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INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF JOHN
A BOOK THAT STANDS ALONE
When a person studies the New Testament and begins Revelation, he feels transported to another world. This book is not at all like the other books of the New Testament. Revelation is not only different from other New Testament books, it is also extremely difficult for modern people to understand, and therefore it has often been either ignored as incomprehensible scripture, or religious madmen have turned it into a battlefield, using it to compile heavenly chronological tables and graphs of what will happen when.
But, on the other hand, there have always been those who loved this book. Philip Carrington, for example, said: "The author of Revelation is a greater master and artist than Stevenson, Coleridge or Bach. John the Evangelist has a better sense of words than Stevenson; he has a better sense of unearthly, supernatural beauty than Coleridge; he has a richer sense melody, rhythm and composition than Bach... It is the only masterpiece of pure art in the New Testament... Its fullness, richness and harmonic variety place it above Greek tragedy."
We will undoubtedly find that this is a difficult and shocking book; but, at the same time, it is highly advisable to study it until it gives us its blessing and reveals its riches.
APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE
When studying Revelation, we must remember that, despite all its uniqueness in the New Testament, it nevertheless represents the most widespread literary genre in the era between the Old and New Testaments. Revelation is usually called Apocalypse(from the Greek word apocalypse, meaning revelation). In the era between the Old and New Testaments, a huge mass of so-called apocalyptic literature, the product of an irresistible Jewish hope.
The Jews could not forget that they were the chosen people of God. This gave them confidence that they would one day achieve world domination. In their history, they were waiting for the arrival of a king from the line of David, who would unite the people and lead them to greatness. "A branch will arise from the root of Jesse" (Isa. 11:1.10). God will restore to David the righteous Branch (Jer. 23.5). One day the people “will serve the Lord their God and David their king.” (Jer. 30:9). David will be their shepherd and their king (Ezek.34:23; 37:24). The Tabernacle of David will be rebuilt (Amos 9:11). From Bethlehem will come a Ruler in Israel, whose origin is from the beginning, from the days of eternity, who will be great to the ends of the earth (Mic. 5:2-4).
But the entire history of Israel has not fulfilled these hopes. After the death of King Solomon, the kingdom, already small in itself, split in two under Rehoboam and Jeroboam and lost its unity. The northern kingdom, with its capital in Samaria, fell in the last quarter of the eighth century BC under the blows of Assyria, disappeared forever from the pages of history, and is known today under the name of the ten lost tribes. The southern kingdom, with its capital Jerusalem, was enslaved and taken away by the Babylonians at the beginning of the sixth century BC. Later it was dependent on the Persians, Greeks and Romans. The history of Israel was a record of defeats, which made it clear that no mortal could deliver or save her.
TWO CENTURIES
The Jewish worldview stubbornly clung to the idea of the chosenness of the Jews, but gradually the Jews had to adapt to the facts of history. To do this, they developed their own history scheme. They divided all history into two centuries: present century, completely vicious, hopelessly lost. Only complete destruction awaits him. And so the Jews waited for his end. Moreover, they expected the coming century, which was, in their minds, to be excellent, the Golden Age of God, in which there would be peace, prosperity and righteousness, and God's chosen people would be rewarded and take their rightful place.
How should this present age become the age to come? The Jews believed that this change could not be accomplished by human forces and therefore they expected the direct intervention of God. He will burst upon the stage of history in great force to completely destroy and destroy this world and introduce His golden time. They called the day of God's coming Lord's Day and it was to be a terrible time of horror, destruction and judgment, and at the same time it was to be the painful beginning of a new age.
All apocalyptic literature covered these events: the sin of the present age, the horrors of the transitional time and the bliss in the future. All apocalyptic literature was inevitably mysterious. She invariably tries to describe the indescribable, express the inexpressible, depict the indescribable.
And all this is complicated by another fact: these apocalyptic visions flashed even brighter in the minds of people living under tyranny and oppression. The more the alien force suppressed them, the more they dreamed of the destruction and destruction of this force and of their justification. But if the oppressors realized the existence of this dream, things would get even worse. These writings would seem to them to be the work of rebellious revolutionaries, and therefore they were often written in code, deliberately presented in a language incomprehensible to outsiders, and many remained incomprehensible because there was no key to decipher them. But the more we know about the historical background of these writings, the better we can discover their intent.
REVELATION
Revelation is the Christian apocalypse, the only one in the New Testament, although there were many others that were not included in the New Testament. It is written on the Jewish model and preserves the basic Jewish concept of the two periods. The only difference is that the Day of the Lord is replaced by the coming of Jesus Christ in power and glory. Not only the outline of the book itself is identical, but also the details. Jewish apocalypses are characterized by a standard set of events that were supposed to happen in the last times; all of them were reflected in Revelation.
Before moving on to consider these events, we need to understand one more problem. AND apocalypses And prophecies relate to future events. What is the difference between them?
APOCALYPSE AND PROPHECY
1. The Prophet thought in terms of this world. His message often contained protest against social, economic and political injustice and always called for obedience and service to God in this world. The Prophet sought to transform this world and believed that the Kingdom of God would come in it. They said that the prophet believed in history. He believed that in history and in the events of history the ultimate purposes of God are realized. In a sense, the prophet was an optimist, for, no matter how severely he condemned the actual state of things, he believed that everything could be corrected if people would do the will of God. In the minds of the author of apocalyptic books, this world was already incorrigible. He believed not in the transformation, but in the destruction of this world, and expected the creation of a new world after this one had been shaken to its foundations by the vengeance of God. And therefore the author of apocalyptic books was, in a sense, a pessimist, because he did not believe at all in the possibility of correcting the existing state of affairs. True, he believed in the coming of the Golden Age, but only after this world was destroyed.
2. The prophet proclaimed his message orally; The message of the author of apocalyptic books was always expressed in written form, and it constitutes a literary work. If it were expressed verbally, people simply would not understand it. It is difficult to understand, confusing, often incomprehensible, it needs to be delved into, it needs to be carefully disassembled in order to understand.
MANDATORY ELEMENTS OF APOCALYPSE
Apocalyptic literature is created according to a certain pattern: it seeks to describe what will happen in the last times and beyond bliss; and these pictures appear in apocalypses again and again. She dealt with the same issues over and over again, so to speak, and they all found their way into our Book of Revelation.
1. In apocalyptic literature, the Messiah is Divine, Redeemer, strong and glorious, waiting for His time to descend into the world and begin his all-conquering activity. He was in heaven before the creation of the world, sun and stars, and is in the presence of the Almighty (En. 48.3.6; 62.7; 4 Esdras. 13.25.26). He will come to throw down the mighty from their places, the kings of the earth from their thrones, and to judge sinners (En. 42.2-6; 48.2-9; 62.5-9; 69.26-29). In the apocalyptic books there was nothing human and soft in the image of the Messiah; He was a Divine figure of vengeful power and glory, before whom the earth trembled in horror.
2. The coming of the Messiah was to occur after the return of Elijah, who would prepare the way for Him (Mal. 4,5.6). Elijah will appear on the hills of Israel, the rabbis asserted, and with a loud voice, heard from one end to the other, will announce the coming of the Messiah.
3. The terrible end times were known as the “birth pangs of the Messiah.” The coming of the Messiah should be like birth pangs. In the Gospels, Jesus predicts a sign of the last days and the following words are put into His mouth: “Yet this is the beginning of diseases.” (Matt. 24:8; Mark 13:8). In Greek illness - one what does it literally mean labor pains
4. The end times will be a time of horror. Then even the bravest will cry out bitterly (Zeph. 1:14); all the inhabitants of the earth will tremble (Joel 2:1); people will be gripped by fear, will look for a place to hide and will not find it (En. 102,1.3).
5. The end times will be a time when the world will be shaken, a time of cosmic upheaval, when the universe as men know it will be destroyed; the stars will be destroyed, the sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood (Isa. 13.10; Joel. 2.30.31; 3.15); the vault of heaven will be destroyed; there will be a furious rain of fire and all creation will turn into a molten mass (Siv. 3:83-89). The order of the seasons will be disrupted, there will be neither night nor dawn (Siv. 3,796-800).
6. In the last times, human relations will be disrupted, hatred and enmity will rule the world, and everyone’s hand will rise against the hand of his neighbor (Zech. 14:13). Brothers will kill brothers, parents will kill their children, from dawn to sunset they will kill each other (En. 100,1.2). Honor will be turned into shame, strength into humiliation, beauty into ugliness. The humble will become envious and passion will take possession of the man who was once peaceful ((2 Var. 48.31-37).
7. The end times will be the days of judgment. God will come like a purifying fire and who will stand when He appears? (Mal. 3.1-3)? The Lord will bring judgment on all flesh with fire and sword (Isa. 66:15.16).
8. In all these visions, the pagans are also given a certain, but not always the same place.
a) Sometimes they see the pagans completely destroyed. Babylon will come to such desolation that there, among the ruins, there will be no place for a wandering Arab to pitch a tent, or for a shepherd to graze his sheep; it will be a desert inhabited by wild beasts (Isa. 13:19-22). God trampled the pagans in His wrath (Isa. 63.6); they will come in chains to Israel (Isa. 45:14).
b) Sometimes they see pagans in last time gather for Israel against Jerusalem and for the final battle, in which they will be destroyed (Ezek. 38:14-39,16; Zech. 14:1-11). The kings of the nations will attack Jerusalem, they will try to destroy the shrines of God, they will place their thrones around the city and with them their unbelieving peoples, but all this is only for their final destruction (Siv. 3,663-672).
c) Sometimes they paint a picture of the conversion of the Gentiles by Israel. God made Israel the light of the nations so that God's salvation would reach to the ends of the earth (Isa. 49:6). The islands will trust in God (Isa. 51.5); the survivors of the nations will be called to come to God and be saved (Isa. 45:20-22). The Son of Man will be a light to the Gentiles (En. 48.4.5). Nations will come from the ends of the earth to Jerusalem to see the glory of God.
9. The Jews scattered throughout the world will in the last times be gathered again in the Holy City; they will come from Assyria and Egypt and worship God on the holy mountain (Isa. 27:12.13). Even those who died as exiles in a foreign land will be brought back.
10. In the last times, the New Jerusalem that existed there from the beginning will come down to earth from heaven. (4 Esdras 10:44-59; 2 Var 4:2-6) and will dwell among people. It will be a beautiful city: its foundations will be of sapphires, its towers will be of agates and its gates will be of pearls, and its fence will be of precious stones. (Isa. 54:12.13; Tov. 13:16.17). The glory of the last temple will be greater than the former (Hagg. 2.7-9).
11. An important part of the end-time apocalyptic picture was the resurrection of the dead. "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken, some to everlasting life, others to everlasting contempt and disgrace. (Dan. 12:2.3). Sheol and the graves will return those who were entrusted to them (En. 51.1). The number of those resurrected varies: sometimes it applied only to the righteous of Israel, sometimes to all of Israel, and sometimes to all people in general. Whatever form it took, it is fair to say that here the hope that there would be life beyond the grave first arose.
12. In Revelation, the view is expressed that the Kingdom of the Saints will last a thousand years, after which there will be a final battle with the forces of evil, and then the Golden Age of God.
BLESSES OF THE COMING AGE
1. The divided kingdom will be united again. The house of Judah will come again to the house of Israel (Jer. 3:18; Isa. 11:13; Hos. 1:11). The old divisions will be eliminated and God's people will be united.
2. The fields in this world will be unusually fertile. The desert will become a garden (Isa. 32:15), it will become like heaven (Isa. 51.3);"The desert and the dry land will rejoice, ... and blossom like a daffodil" (Isa. 35:1).
3. In all visions of the new age, a constant element was the end of all wars. Swords will be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks (Isa. 2:4). There will be no sword, no war trumpet. There will be one law for all people and great world on earth, and kings will be friends (Siv. 3,751-760).
4. One of the most beautiful ideas expressed in connection with the new century is that there will be no enmity between animals or between man and animals. “Then the wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the lamb, and the young lion and the ox will be together, and a little child will lead them.” (Isa. 11:6-9; 65:25). A new alliance will be made between man and the beasts of the field (Hos. 2:18).“And the child will play in the nest of the asp (snake), and the child will stretch out his hand into the nest of the snake.” (Isa. 11:6-9; 2 Var. 73:6). Friendship will reign throughout nature, where no one will want to harm another.
5. The coming age will put an end to fatigue, sadness and suffering. People will no longer languish (Jer. 31:12), and eternal joy will be over their heads (Isa. 35:10). Then there will be no premature death (Isa. 65:20-22) and not one of the inhabitants will say: “I am sick” (Isa. 33:24)."Death will be swallowed up forever, and the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces..." (Isa. 25:8). Diseases, anxieties and lamentations will disappear, there will be no pain during childbirth, reapers will not get tired, builders will not be exhausted by work (2 Var. 73.2-74.4).
6. The age to come will be an age of righteousness. People will be completely holy. Humanity will be a good generation living in the fear of God V days of mercy (Psalms of Solomon 17:28-49; 18:9.10).
Revelation is the representative of all these apocalyptic books in the New Testament, telling of the horrors that will happen before the end of time, and of the blessings of the age to come; Revelation uses all these familiar visions. They will often present difficulties for us and will even be unintelligible, but, for the most part, pictures and ideas were used that were well known and understandable to those who read him.
AUTHOR OF REVELATION
1. Revelation was written by a man named John. From the very beginning he says that the vision he is about to recount was sent by God to His servant John (1,1). He begins the main part of the message with the words: John, to the seven churches in Asia (1:4). He speaks of himself as John, brother and partner in sorrow of those to whom he writes (1,9). “I am John,” he says, “I saw and heard this.” (22,8). 2. John was a Christian who lived in the same region in which the Christians of the seven churches lived. He calls himself the brother of those to whom he writes, and says that he shares with them the sorrows that befell them (1:9).
3. Most likely, he was a Palestinian Jew who came to Asia Minor in old age. This conclusion can be drawn if we take into account his Greek language - lively, strong and imaginative, but, from the point of view of grammar, the worst in the New Testament. It is quite obvious that Greek is not his native language; it is often clear that he writes in Greek but thinks in Hebrew. He immersed himself in the Old Testament. He quotes it or alludes to relevant passages 245 times; quotations are taken from almost twenty books of the Old Testament, but his favorite books are the Books of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Psalms, Exodus, Jeremiah and Zechariah. But he not only knows the Old Testament very well, he is also familiar with the apocalyptic literature that arose in the era between the Old and New Testaments.
4. He considers himself a prophet, and on this he bases his right to speak. The Risen Christ commanded him to prophesy (10,11); It is through the spirit of prophecy that Jesus gives His prophecies to the Church (19,10). The Lord God is the God of the holy prophets and He sends His angels to show His servants what is about to happen in the world (22,9). His book is a typical book of the prophets, containing prophetic words (22,7.10.18.19).
John bases his authority on this. He does not call himself an apostle, as Paul does, wanting to emphasize his right to speak. John has no “official” or administrative position in the Church; he is a prophet. He writes what he sees, and because everything he sees comes from God, his word is truthful and true (1,11.19).
At the time when John wrote - somewhere around 90 - prophets occupied a special place in the Church. At that time there were two types of shepherds in the Church. Firstly, there was a local pastorate - it lived settled in one community: presbyters (elders), deacons and teachers. Secondly, there was an itinerant ministry, the scope of which was not limited to any particular community; this included the apostles, whose messages were spread throughout the Church, and the prophets, who were itinerant preachers. Prophets were highly respected; to question the words of a true prophet meant sinning against the Holy Spirit, says the Didache,"The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles" (11:7). IN Didache the accepted order for administering the Lord's Supper is given, and at the end the sentence is added: “Let the prophets give thanks as much as they want” ( 10,7 ). Prophets were looked upon solely as men of God, and John was a prophet.
5. It is unlikely that he was an apostle, otherwise he would hardly have emphasized that he was a prophet. John looks back to the apostles as the great foundations of the Church. He speaks of the twelve foundations of the wall of the Holy City, and further: “and on them are the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.” (21,14). He would hardly have spoken about the apostles like that if he had been one of them.
Such considerations are further confirmed by the title of the book. Most translations of the book's title read: Revelation of Saint John the Theologian. But in some English translations Recently the name sounds like this: Revelation of Saint John, A Theologian omitted because it is absent from most of the oldest Greek lists, although it generally goes back to ancient times. In Greek it is theologos and used here in the meaning theologian, not in meaning saint. This very addition should have distinguished John, the author of Revelation, from John the Apostle.
Already in 250, Dionysius, a major theologian and leader of the Christian school in Alexandria, understood that it was extremely unlikely that the same person wrote both the fourth Gospel and Revelation, if only because their Greek languages were so different. The Greek of the Fourth Gospel is simple and correct, the Greek of Revelation is rough and bright, but very irregular. Further, the author of the fourth Gospel avoids mentioning his name, but John, the author of Revelation, mentions him repeatedly. In addition, the ideas of both books are completely different. The great ideas of the fourth Gospel - light, life, truth and grace - do not occupy the main place in Revelation. However, at the same time, there are enough similarities in both books both in thoughts and in language, which clearly shows that they come from the same center and from the same world of ideas.
Elisabeth Schüsler-Fiorenza, an expert on Revelation, recently found that, “from the last quarter of the second century until the beginning of modern critical theology, it was widely believed that both books (the Gospel of John and Revelation) were written by an apostle” (“The Book of Revelation” . Justice and punishment of God", 1985, p. 86). Such external, objective evidence was required by theologians because the internal evidence lying in the books themselves (style, words, statements of the author about his rights) did not seem to speak in favor of the fact that their author was the Apostle John. Theologians who defend the authorship of the Apostle John explain the differences between the Gospel of John and Revelation in the following ways:
a) They indicate the difference in the spheres of these books. One talks about the earthly life of Jesus, while the other talks about the revelation of the Risen Lord.
b) They believe that there is a large interval of time between their writing.
c) They claim that the theology of one complements the theology of the other and together they constitute a complete theology.
d) They suggest that the language and linguistic differences are explained by the fact that the recording and revision of the texts was carried out by different secretaries. Adolf Pohl states that sometime around 170, a small group in the Church deliberately introduced a false author (Cerinthus) because they did not like the theology of Revelation and found it easier to criticize a less authoritative author than the Apostle John.
TIME OF WRITING REVELATION
There are two sources for establishing the time of its writing.
1. On the one hand - church traditions. They point out that during the era of the Roman emperor Domitian, John was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he had a vision; after the death of Emperor Domitian, he was released and returned to Ephesus, where he enrolled. Victorinus wrote sometime at the end of the third century in a commentary on Revelation: "When John saw all this, he was on the island of Patmos, condemned by the emperor Domitian to work in the mines. There he saw the revelation... When he was subsequently released from work in the mines, he wrote down this revelation he received from God." Jerome of Dalmatia dwells on this in more detail: “In the fourteenth year after the persecution of Nero, John was exiled to the island of Patmos and wrote the Revelation there... After the death of Domitian and the repeal of his decrees by the Senate, due to their extreme cruelty, he returned to Ephesus, when the emperor was Nerva." The Church historian Eusebius wrote: “The apostle and evangelist John related these things to the church when he returned from exile on the island after the death of Domitian.” According to legend, it is clear that John had visions during his exile on the island of Patmos; one thing is not completely established - and it does not really matter - whether he wrote them down during his exile, or upon his return to Ephesus. With this in mind, it would not be wrong to say that Revelation was written around the year 95.
2. The second evidence is the material of the book itself. In it we find a completely new attitude towards Rome and the Roman Empire.
As follows from the Acts of the Holy Apostles, Roman courts were often the most reliable protection for Christian missionaries from the hatred of Jews and angry crowds of people. Paul was proud to be a Roman citizen and repeatedly demanded for himself the rights that were guaranteed to every Roman citizen. In Philippi, Paul frightened the administration by declaring that he was a Roman citizen (Acts 16:36-40). In Corinth, the consul Gallio treated Paul fairly, according to Roman law. (Acts 18:1-17). In Ephesus, the Roman authorities ensured his safety against the rioting crowd. (Acts 19:13-41). In Jerusalem, the captain saved Paul, one might say, from lynching (Acts 21:30-40). When the commander heard that an attempt was being made on Paul's life during the transition to Caesarea, he took all measures to ensure his safety (Acts 23,12-31).
Desperate to achieve justice in Palestine, Paul exercised his right as a Roman citizen and complained directly to the emperor (Acts 25:10.11). In the Epistle to the Romans, Paul urges his readers to be submissive to the authorities, for authorities are from God, and they are terrible not for good, but for evil. (Rom. 13.1-7). Peter gives the same advice to be submissive to authorities, kings, and rulers because they are doing the will of God. Christians should fear God and honor the king (1 Pet. 2:12-17). It is believed that in the Epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul points to the power of Rome as the only force capable of containing the chaos that threatens the world (2 Thess. 2:7).
In Revelation, only one irreconcilable hatred of Rome is visible. Rome is Babylon, mother of harlots, intoxicated with the blood of saints and martyrs (Rev. 17:5.6). John expects only his final destruction.
The explanation for this change lies in the widespread worship of the Roman emperors, which, combined with the accompanying persecution of Christians, is the background against which Revelation is written.
At the time of Revelation, the cult of Caesar was the only universal religion of the Roman Empire, and Christians were persecuted and executed precisely for their refusal to comply with its demands. According to this religion, the Roman emperor, who embodied the spirit of Rome, was divine. Every person had to appear before the local administration once a year and burn a pinch of incense to the divine emperor and proclaim: “Caesar is Lord.” Having done this, a person could go and worship any other god or goddess, as long as such worship did not violate the rules of decency and order; but he had to perform this ceremony of worshiping the emperor.
The reason was simple. Rome was now a diverse empire, stretching from one end of the known world to the other, with many languages, races and traditions. Rome was faced with the task of uniting this heterogeneous mass into a unity that had some kind of common consciousness. The strongest unifying force is a common religion, but none of the then popular religions could become universal, but the veneration of the deified Roman emperor could. It was the only cult that could unite the empire. To refuse to burn a pinch of incense and to say, “Caesar is Lord,” was not an act of unbelief, but an act of disloyalty; that is why the Romans treated so cruelly a person who refused to say: “Caesar is Lord,” and not a single Christian could say Lord anyone other than Jesus, because that was the essence of his creed.
Let's see how this worship of Caesar developed and why it reached its apogee in the era of the writing of Revelation.
One very important fact should be noted. The veneration of Caesar was not imposed on people from above. It arose among the people, one might even say, despite all the attempts of the first emperors to stop, or at least limit it. It should also be noted that of all the peoples inhabiting the empire, only the Jews were exempt from this cult.
The worship of Caesar began as a spontaneous outburst of gratitude to Rome. The peoples in the provinces knew well what they owed to him. Imperial Roman law and legal proceedings replaced arbitrary and tyrannical arbitrariness. Security has replaced dangerous situations. The great Roman roads connected different parts of the world; the roads and seas were free from robbers and pirates. The Roman world was the greatest achievement of the ancient world. As the great Roman poet Virgil put it, Rome saw its purpose as “sparing the fallen and overthrowing the proud.” Life has found a new order. Goodspeed wrote about it this way: "That was package of the novel. The provincials could, under Roman rule, conduct their affairs, provide for their families, send letters, and travel in safety thanks to the strong hand of Rome."
The cult of Caesar did not begin with the deification of the emperor. It began with the deification of Rome. The spirit of the empire was deified in a goddess called Roma. Roma symbolized the powerful and benevolent force of the empire. The first temple to Rome was erected in Smyrna back in 195 BC. It was not difficult to imagine the spirit of Rome embodied in one person - the emperor. Worship of the emperor began with Julius Caesar after his death. In 29 BC, Emperor Augustus granted the provinces of Asia and Bithynia the right to erect temples in Ephesus and Nicaea for the general worship of the goddess Roma and the already deified Julius Caesar. Roman citizens were encouraged and even exhorted to worship at these sanctuaries. Then the next step was taken: Emperor Augustus gave the inhabitants of the provinces, Not who had Roman citizenship, the right to erect temples in Pergamum in Asia and Nicomedia in Bithynia for the worship of the goddess Roma and to myself. At first, worship of the reigning emperor was considered acceptable for residents of the province who did not have Roman citizenship, but not for those who had citizenship.
This had inevitable consequences. It is human nature to worship a god who can be seen, rather than a spirit, and gradually people began to worship the emperor himself more, instead of the goddess Roma. At that time, special permission from the Senate was still needed to build a temple in honor of the reigning emperor, but by the middle of the first century this permission was increasingly granted. The cult of the emperor became the universal religion of the Roman Empire. A caste of priests arose and worship was organized in presbyteries, the representatives of which were accorded the highest honor.
This cult did not at all seek to completely replace other religions. Rome was generally very tolerant in this regard. Man could honor Caesar And their god, but over time, the veneration of Caesar increasingly became a test of trustworthiness; it became, as someone put it, a recognition of the dominion of Caesar over the life and soul of man. Let us trace the development of this cult before the writing of Revelation and immediately after that.
1. Emperor Augustus, who died in 14, allowed the worship of Julius Caesar, his great predecessor. He allowed the inhabitants of the provinces, who did not have Roman citizenship, to worship themselves, but forbade his Roman citizens from doing so. Note that he did not show any violent measures in this.
2. Emperor Tiberius (14-37) could not stop the cult of Caesar; but he forbade the building of temples and the appointment of priests to establish his cult, and in a letter to the city of Giton in Laconia, he decisively refused all divine honors for himself. He not only did not encourage the cult of Caesar, but also discouraged it.
3. The next emperor Caligula (37-41) - an epileptic and a madman with delusions of grandeur, insisted on divine honors for himself, tried to impose the cult of Caesar even on the Jews, who had always been and remained an exception in this regard. He intended to place his image in the Holy of Holies of the Jerusalem Temple, which would certainly lead to outrage and rebellion. Fortunately, he died before he could carry out his intentions. But during his reign, worship of Caesar became a requirement throughout the empire.
4. Caligula was replaced by Emperor Claudius (41-54), who completely changed the perverted policy of his predecessor. He wrote to the ruler of Egypt - about a million Jews lived in Alexandria - fully approving of the Jews' refusal to call the emperor a god and giving them complete freedom in the conduct of their worship. Having ascended the throne, Claudius wrote to Alexandria: “I forbid the appointment of me as a high priest and the erection of temples, because I do not want to act against my contemporaries, and I believe that sacred temples and all that in all ages have been attributes of the immortal gods, as well as the special accord given to them honor".
5. Emperor Nero (54-68) did not take his divinity seriously and did nothing to consolidate the cult of Caesar. He, however, persecuted Christians, but not because they did not respect him as a god, but because he needed scapegoats for the great fire of Rome.
6. After the death of Nero, three emperors were replaced in eighteen months: Galba, Otto and Vitelius; With such confusion, the question of the cult of Caesar did not arise at all.
7. The next two emperors - Vespasian (69-79) and Titus (79-81) were wise rulers who did not insist on the cult of Caesar.
8. Everything changed radically with the coming to power of Emperor Domitian (81-96). It was like he was the devil. He was the worst of all - a cold-blooded persecutor. With the exception of Caligula, he was the only emperor who took his divinity seriously and demanding observance of the cult of Caesar. The difference was that Caligula was a mad Satan, and Domitian was mentally healthy, which is much more terrible. He erected a monument to “the divine Titus, son of the divine Vespasian,” and began a campaign of severe persecution of everyone who did not worship the ancient gods - he called them atheists. He especially hated Jews and Christians. When he appeared with his wife at the theater, the crowd must have shouted: “Everyone salutes our master and our lady!” Domitian proclaimed himself a god, informed all provincial rulers that all government messages and announcements should begin with the words: “Our Lord and God Domitian commands...” Any appeal to him - written or oral - had to begin with the words: “Lord and God".
This is the background of Revelation. Throughout the empire, men and women had to call Domitian a god, or die. The cult of Caesar was a deliberately implemented policy. Everyone was supposed to say: “The Emperor is Lord.” There was no other way out.
What could Christians do? What could they hope for? There were not many wise and powerful among them. They had neither influence nor prestige. The power of Rome rose up against them, which no people could resist. Christians were faced with a choice: Caesar or Christ. Revelation was written to inspire people to such hard times. John did not close his eyes to the horrors; he saw terrible things, he saw even more terrible things ahead, but above all this he saw the glory that awaits the one who refuses Caesar for the love of Christ.
Revelation appeared during one of the most heroic eras in the entire history of the Christian Church. Domitian's successor, Emperor Nerva (96-98), however, abolished the wild laws, but they had already caused irreparable damage: Christians were outlawed, and Revelation turned out to be the trumpet call that called for loyalty to Christ until death in order to receive the crown of life .
A BOOK WORTH STUDYING
We must not close our eyes to the difficulties of Revelation: it is the most difficult book of the Bible, but its study is extremely useful, because it contains the burning faith of the Christian Church in an era when life was pure agony, and people were waiting for the end of the heaven and earth they knew, but still They believed that behind the horrors and human rage is the glory and power of God.
GOD'S REVELATION TO MEN (Rev. 1:1-3)
This book is sometimes called Revelation and sometimes - Apocalypse. It begins with the words: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ,” which does not mean revelation about Jesus Christ, and the revelation given Jesus Christ. Revelation - in Greek apocalypse, and this word has its own history.
1. Apocalypse consists of two words: apo, what does it mean away from And calupsis - cover, and therefore apocalypse Means unveiling, revelation. Initially, this word was not strictly religious, but simply meant the exposure of some fact. The Greek historian Plutarch uses this word very interestingly (“How to distinguish a flatterer from a friend,” 32). He talks about how Pythagoras once publicly reprimanded one of his devoted students, and how this young man went and hanged himself. “From then on, Pythagoras never again instructed anyone in front of strangers, because mistakes must be treated in the same way as an infectious disease and any instruction and clarification (apocalupsis) must be done in secret." But then apocalypse became an exclusively Christian word.
2. It is used to reveal the will of God for the direction of our actions. So Paul says that he came to Jerusalem by revelation (apocalupse). He went because God told him that's what he wanted him to do. (Gal. 2:2).
3. It is used to reveal the truth of God to people. The gospel that Paul preached, he received not from man, but through revelation (apocalupse) Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:12). The message of the preacher in the Christian congregation - revelation (1 Cor. 14:6).
4. It is also used to reveal God’s hidden secrets to people, especially in the incarnation of Jesus Christ (Rom. 14:24; Eph. 3:3).
5. It is especially used to designate the revelation of the power and holiness of God which is to come in the last days; this will be the revelation of righteous judgment (Rom. 2.5); for Christians this will be a revelation “to praise, honor and glory” (1 Pet. 1:7), grace (1 Pet. 1:13), joy (1 Pet. 4:13).
Before turning to the more specific use of the word apocalypse, Two facts should be noted.
1. Revelation is connected in a special way with the activity of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:17).
2. It should be understood that here we have before us an image of the entire Christian life, because there is no part of it that would not be illuminated by the revelation of God. God reveals to us what we ought to do and say; in Jesus Christ He reveals Himself to us, for whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father (John 14:9), and life moves toward the final and final revelation, in which there will be judgment for those who have disobeyed God, and grace, glory, and joy for those who abide in Jesus Christ. Revelation is not a specifically theological idea; this is what God offers to anyone who is willing to listen.
Now let's turn to the specific meaning of the word apocalypse, which is directly related to this book.
The Jews had long ceased to hope that they could, on their own, receive the reward due to them as the chosen people, and therefore hoped for the direct intervention of God. To do this, they divided all time into two centuries - into present century, subject to vice, and on the coming century, which is God's age. And in between there is a time of great tribulation. In the era between the Old and New Testaments, the Jews wrote many books that presented visions of the terrible end times and the bliss that would follow. These books were called apocalypses; Revelation is such a book. Although there is nothing else like it in the New Testament, it belongs to a literary genre typical of the era between the Old and New Testaments. There was something wild and incomprehensible in these books, because they try to describe the indescribable. Revelation is so difficult to understand precisely because of the subject and topic it deals with.
THE MEANS OF GOD'S REVELATION (Rev. 1:1-3 continued)
This passage briefly shows how the revelation reached the people.
1. Revelation comes from God, the source of all truth. Every truth discovered by people contains two elements: it is a discovery of the human mind and a gift from God. However, it is important to remember that a person will never creates truth, and receives it is from God. We should also remember that he receives it in two ways. A person comprehends it as a result serious searches. God gave man reason and therefore He often speaks to us through our mind. Of course, He does not trust the truth to anyone who is too lazy to think about it. It is realized as a result reverent anticipation. God gives His truth to those who not only think intensely about it, but also quietly await its revelation in prayer and devotion. But again we must remember that prayer and devotion to God are not a purely passive activity, but reverent listening to the voice of God.
2. God gave His revelation to Jesus Christ. The Bible does not make Jesus into a second God; rather, on the contrary, it emphasizes His absolute dependence on God. “My teaching,” said Jesus, “is not Mine, but of Him who sent Me.” (John 7:16).“I... do nothing of Myself, but as My Father taught Me, so I speak.” (John 8:28).“For I spoke not of Myself, but the Father who sent Me gave Me a commandment, what to say and what to say.” (John 12:49). Jesus proclaims God's truth to people and that is why His teaching is unique and final.
3. Jesus gave this truth to John through His Angel (Rev. 1:1). Therefore, the author of Revelation is a child of his time. During that period of history, the transcendence (unknowability) of God was especially realized. In other words, they were greatly impressed by the difference between God and man, so much so that they considered direct communication between God and man impossible, and that intermediaries were always necessary for this. In the Old Testament, Moses received the law directly from the hands of God (Ex. 19 and 20), and the New Testament twice says that the law was made through the ministry of angels (Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19).
4. Finally, revelation is given to John. There is something sublime in thinking about the role people play in the process of communicating God's revelation. God needed to find someone whom He could trust with His truth and whom He could use as His mouthpiece.
5. It should be noted content revelation given to John. This is the revelation “what must soon be” (1:1). There are two important words here: first, proper. Let us note that there is nothing accidental in history; it has its own purpose. Secondly, soon. This serves as proof that it would be wrong to use Revelation as some kind of mysterious table of future events that may take place in a thousand years. In John's view, what is spoken of in Revelation must happen immediately. And therefore Revelation must be interpreted in the context of that time.
Servants of GOD (Rev. 1:1-3 (continued))
Word slave used twice in this passage. God gave revelation slaves Yours through slave His John. In Greek it is doulos, A in Hebrew - ebedh. Both words are difficult to translate. Usually doulos translated as slave. A true servant of God is, in fact, His slave. The servant can quit whenever he pleases; he has set hours of work and rest; he works for a certain fee, has his own opinion and can bargain when and for how much he will work. The slave is deprived of this; he is the complete property of his master, and has neither his own will nor his own time. Words doulos And ebedh indicate how absolute our submission to God should be.
It is very interesting to note to whom these words refer in Scripture.
Abraham - servant of God (Gen. 26.24). Moses - servant of God (2 Chron. 24.6; Neh. 1.7; 10.29; Ps. 104.26; Dan. 9.11). Jacob - servant of God (Isa. 44:1.2; 45:4; Ezek. 37:25). Caleb and Joshua - servants of God (Num. 14.24; Joshua 24.29; Judg. 2.8). After Moses, David is most often called the servant of God. (1 Kings 8.66; 11.36; 2 Kings 19.34; 20.6; 1 Chronicles 17.4; Ps. 132.10; 144.10; in the titles to Ps. 17 and 35; Ps. 88.4; Ezek. 34.24). Elijah - servant of God (2 Kings 9.36; 10.10). Isaiah - servant of God (Isa. 20:3); Job - servant of God (Job 1.8; 42.7). Prophets are servants of God (2 Kings 21:10; Amos 3:7). Apostles are servants of God (Phil. 1:1; Titus 1:1; James 1:1; Jude 1; Rom. 1:1; 2 Cor. 4:5). A man like Epaphras is a slave of Jesus Christ (Col. 4:12). All Christians are servants of Christ (Eph. 6:6). From this we can come to the following conclusions.
1. The greatest men considered it an honor to be servants of God.
2. It is interesting to note the extent of their ministry: Moses the lawgiver; brave wanderer Abraham; the shepherd boy David, the sweet singer of Israel and its king; Caleb and Joshua are warriors and active men; Elijah and Isaiah are prophets and men of God; Job - faithful and in trouble; the apostles who brought people the news about Jesus; every Christian - servant of God. God can use all who agree to serve Him.
BLESSED BY GOD (Rev. 1:1-3 continued)
This passage ends with three blessings.
1. Blessed is the man who reads these words. Reading - in this case it is not a person reading by himself, but who publicly reads the word of God in the presence of the entire community. The reading of Scripture was at the center of every service in the Jewish synagogue (Luke 4:16; Delhi 13:15). In the Jewish synagogue, the Scriptures were read to the community by seven ordinary members of the community, but if a priest or Levite was present, then the right of primacy belonged to him. The Christian Church borrowed much from the synagogue service order, and the reading of Scripture remained a central part of the service. The earliest description of a Christian church service is found in Justin Martyr; it included reading “the tales of the apostles (that is, the Gospels), and the writings of the prophets” (Justin Martyr: I, 67). Over time reading became an official official in the Church. Tertullian complains, among other things, that in heretical communities a person could too quickly obtain an official position without first receiving proper training for this. He writes: “And so it happens that today they have one bishop, and tomorrow another, today he is a deacon, and tomorrow he is a reader” (Tertullian, “On Prescription Against Heretics,” 41).
2. He who hears these words is blessed. We will do well if we remember how great the advantage is to hear the word of God in our own language, and this right is bought at a price. People died to give it to us; and the professional clergy for a long time tried to preserve the old languages, incomprehensible to the people, for themselves. However, to this day, every work is being done that offers people the Scriptures in their own language.
3. Blessed is the man who keeps these words. Hearing the word of God is a privilege; obeying Him is a duty. There is no genuine Christian feeling in anyone who hears the word and forgets or deliberately ignores them.
This is all the more important because the time is near (1,3). The early Church lived in a living expectation of the coming of Jesus Christ and this expectation was their sure hope in trouble and a constant warning sign. Regardless of this, no one knows when he will be called from the earth and, in order for him to meet God with hope, he needs to complement listening with obedience.
Revelation contains seven bliss.
1. Blessed are those of whom we have just spoken. Blessed are all those who read the Word, listen to it and obey it.
2. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord (14,13). This can be called the heavenly bliss of Christ's friends on earth.
3. Blessed is he who watches and keeps his clothes (16,15). This can be called the bliss of the waking wanderer.
4. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb (19,9). This can be called the bliss of God's invited guests.
5. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection (20,6). This can be called the bliss of a person over whom the second death has no power.
6. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book (22,7). This can be called the blessedness of the wise man who reads the Word of God.
7. Blessed are those who keep His commandments (22,14). This can be called the bliss of those who listen and obey.
Such beatitudes are available to every Christian.
THE MESSAGE AND ITS PURPOSE (Rev. 1:4-6)
Revelation is a message written seven churches located in Asia. In the New Testament, Asia is not the continent of Asia, but a Roman province. This was once the kingdom of Attala the Third, who bequeathed it to Rome. It included the western Mediterranean coast of the Asia Minor peninsula with the regions of Phrygia, Mysia, Caria and Lycia; its capital was Pergamum.
Seven churches are listed in 1,11 - Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. Of course, there were more than just these seven churches in Asia. There was a church at Colosse (Col. 1,2); in Hierapolis (Col. 4:13); in Troas (2 Cor. 2:12; Acts 20:5); in Milita (Acts 20:17); and in Magnesia and Tralles, as can be seen from the epistles of Ignatius, bishop of Antioch. Why did John choose only these seven? There could be several reasons for this.
1. These churches can be considered as the centers of seven postal districts, connected among themselves by a kind of ring road passing through the Province. Troas lay away from the road, and Hierapolis and Colossae were relatively close to Laodicea - they could be reached on foot; and Tralles, Magnesia and Mylitus were near Ephesus. The messages to these seven cities were easily distributed to the surrounding areas, and since each message was handwritten, they had to be sent where they would reach the largest number of people.
2. When reading Revelation, John's preference for the number seven is immediately revealed. It occurs fifty-four times: these are the seven golden lampstands (1,12); seven stars (1,16); seven fire lamps (4,5); seven seals (5,1); seven horns and seven eyes (5,6); seven thunders (10,3); seven angels, seven golden bowls and seven plagues (15,6. 7-8). In ancient times the number seven was considered perfect, and it runs throughout Revelation.
Some early commentators drew an interesting conclusion from this. Seven is a perfect number because it symbolizes completeness, completeness. And so they assumed that when John wrote seven to the churches he, in essence, wrote all Churches. The first official list of books of the New Testament in the Muratorium canon on Revelation says:
“For John also, although he writes in Revelation to the seven churches, yet addresses himself to all.” This is all the more likely if we remember how often John says: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (2,7.11.17.29; 3,6.13.22).
3. Although the reasons we have given for choosing these seven churches are justified, it may be that the real reason why he chose them was that he was especially respected there. They were, so to speak his church, and in addressing them he directed the Revelation first of all to those who knew him best and loved him best, and through them to every church in every generation.
BLESSINGS AND THEIR SOURCE (Rev. 1:4-6 continued)
John begins by conveying blessings from God to them.
He sends them grace, and that means all the undeserved gifts of God’s wonderful love. He sends them world, which one English theologian defined as, "the harmony restored between God and the man Christ."
John sends greetings from the One who is and who was and who is to come. Actually, this is the usual title of God. IN Ref. 3.14 God says to Moses: "I am the seven." The Jewish rabbis explained that God meant by this: “I was; I still exist and in the future I will be.” The Greeks said: "Zeus who was, Zeus who is and Zeus who will be." The followers of the Orphic religion said: “Zeus is the first and Zeus the last; Zeus is the head and Zeus is the middle, and everything came from Zeus.” All this got in Heb. 13.8 such beautiful expression: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
During that terrible time, John remained unfailingly faithful to the idea of the immutability of God.
SEVEN SPIRITS (Rev. 1:4-6 (continued))
Anyone who reads this passage should be surprised by the order of the persons of the Trinity given here. We say: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Here we are talking about the Father and Jesus Christ, the Son, and instead of the Holy Spirit - seven spirits before the throne. These seven spirits are mentioned more than once in Revelation (3,1; 4,5; 5,6). Three explanations have been given.
1. The Jews spoke of seven angels of the presence, whom they beautifully called "the first seven white ones" (1 En. 90.21). These were, as we call them, archangels and they "offer the prayers of the saints and ascend before the glory of the Holy One" (Tob. 12:15). They do not always have the same names, but they are often called Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Gabriel, Sarakiel (Sadakiel) and Jerimiel (Phanuel). They regulated the various elements of the earth - fire, air and water and were the guardian angels of the peoples. These were the most famous and closest servants of God. Some commentators believe that they are the seven spirits mentioned. But this is impossible; no matter how great these angels were, they were still created.
2. The second explanation is related to the famous passage from Is. 11.2-For:“And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and godliness, and will be filled with the fear of the Lord.” This passage provided the basis for a great concept seven gifts of the Spirit.
3. The third explanation connects the idea of seven spirits with the fact of the existence of seven churches. IN Heb. 2.4 we read about the “dispensing of the Holy Spirit” according to His will. In the Greek expression translated into Russian by the word distribution, worth the word merismos, which means share, part, and seems to convey the idea that God gives each person a share of His Spirit. So the idea here was that these seven spirits symbolized the portions of the Spirit that God had given to each of the seven churches, and the meaning was that no Christian community was left without the presence, power, and sanctification of the Spirit.
NAMES OF JESUS CHRIST (Rev. 1:4-6 (continued))
In this passage we see three great titles of Jesus Christ.
1. He is a faithful witness. This is one of the favorite ideas of the author of the fourth Gospel, that Jesus is a witness to the truth of God. Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, We speak of what we know and testify of what we see.” (John 3:11). Jesus said to Pontius Pilate: “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” (John 18:37). The witness speaks of what he saw with his own eyes. This is why Jesus is God's witness: He alone has first-hand knowledge about God.
2. He is the firstborn from the dead. Firstborn, in Greek prototokos, can have two meanings, a) It can literally mean firstborn, first, eldest child. If it is used in this sense, then it must be a reference to the Resurrection. Through the Resurrection, Jesus achieved a victory over death, in which everyone who believes in Him can participate, b) Due to the fact that the firstborn is a son who inherits the honor and power of the father, prototokos got the meaning a person invested with power and glory; taking first place a prince among ordinary people. When Paul speaks of Jesus as being the firstborn of every creation (Col. 1:15), he emphasizes that first place and honor belong to Him. If we accept this meaning of the word, it means that Jesus is Lord of the dead, as well as Lord of the living. In the whole universe, in this world and in the world to come, in life and in death, there is no place where Jesus is not Lord.
3. He is the ruler of the kings of the earth. Two points should be noted here, a) This is a parallel to Ps. 88,28: "And I will make him the firstborn, above the kings of the earth." The Jewish scribes always believed that this verse was a description of the coming Messiah; and, therefore, to say that Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth is to say that He is the Messiah, b) One commentator points out the connection of this title of Jesus with the story of His temptation, when the devil took Jesus to a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and said to Him, “I will give all this to You if you fall and worship me.” (Matthew 4:8.9; Luke 4:6.7). The devil claimed that he had been given power over all the kingdoms of the earth (Luke 4:6) and offered Jesus, if He would enter into an alliance with him, to give Him a share in them. It is amazing that Jesus Himself, through His suffering and death on the Cross and the power of the Resurrection, acquired what the devil promised Him, but could never give. It was not compromise with evil, but unshakable fidelity and true love, which even accepted the Cross, that made Jesus Lord of the universe.
WHAT JESUS DID FOR THE PEOPLE (Rev. 1:4-6 (continued))
Few passages describe so beautifully what Jesus did for people.
1. He loved us and washed us from our sins with His Blood. In Greek the words wash And rid very similar, respectively Luane And liein, but they are pronounced exactly the same. But there remains no doubt that in the oldest and best Greek lists there is liein, that is rid.
John understands this to mean that Jesus freed us from our sins at the cost of His blood. This is exactly what John says later when he speaks of those who have been redeemed by God by the blood of the Lamb. (5,9). That's what I meant
Paul, when he said that Christ redeemed us from the oath of the law (Gal. 3:13). In both of these cases Paul used the word eksagoradzein, what does it mean redeem from, to pay the price when purchasing a person or thing from someone who owns the person or thing.
Many should feel relieved when they learn that John is saying here that we are freed from our sins at the cost of blood, that is, at the cost of the life of Jesus Christ.
There is another very interesting point here. It is necessary to pay special attention to the tense in which the verbs appear. John insists that the expression Jesus loves us costs in present tense, which means that the love of God in Jesus Christ is something constant and continuous. Expression freed (washed) on the contrary, it stands in past tense; the Greek aorist form conveys a completed action in the past, that is, our liberation from sins was complete in one act of the Crucifixion. In other words, what happened on the Cross was the only act available in time that served to express the ongoing love of God.
2. Jesus made us kings and priests to God. This is a quote from Ref. 19.6:“And you will be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Jesus did two things for us.
a) He gave us royal dignity. Through Him we can become true children of God; and if we are children of the King of kings, then there is no higher bloodline than ours.
b) He made us priests. According to the previous tradition, only the priest had the right of access to God. A Jew entering the temple could pass through the court of the Gentiles, the court of the women, and the court of the Israelites, but here he had to stop; he could not enter the court of the priests, he could not approach the Holy of Holies. In a vision of the great days to come, Isaiah said, “And ye shall be called priests of the Lord.” (Isa. 61:6). On that day, every person will be a priest and have access to God. This is what John means here. Because of what Jesus did for us, everyone has access to God. This is the priesthood of all believers. We can come boldly to the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16), because we have a new and living way into the presence of God (Heb. 10:19-22).
THE COMING GLORY (Rev. 1:7)
From this point on, we will have to constantly, in almost every passage, note John's appeal to the Old Testament. John was so steeped in the Old Testament that he could hardly write a paragraph without quoting it. This is remarkable and interesting. John lived in an era when it was simply scary to be a Christian. He himself experienced exile, imprisonment and hard work; and many accepted death in the most brutal forms. The best way to maintain courage and hope in this situation is to remember that God has never abandoned His people in the past, and that His authority and power have not diminished.
In this passage, John lays out the motto and text of his book, his belief in the victorious return of Christ who will save Christians in trouble from the atrocities of their enemies.
1. For Christians, the return of Christ is the promise with which they feed their souls. John took the picture of this return from Daniel's vision of the four great beasts that ruled the world. (Dan. 7:1-14). It was Babylon - a beast like a lion with eagle wings (7,4); Persia is a beast that looks like a wild bear (Dan. 7.5); Greece is a beast like a leopard, on its back it has four bird wings (Dan. 7.6); and Rome is a terrible and terrible beast, it has large iron teeth, indescribable (Dan. 7:7). But the time of these beasts and cruel empires is past, and dominion must be transferred to a gentle power, like the Son of Man. “I saw in the night visions, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, came to the Ancient of Days and was brought to Him. And to Him was given power, glory and a kingdom, that all nations, tribes and languages should serve Him.” (Dan. 7:13.14). It is from this vision of the prophet Daniel that the picture of the Son of Man coming on the clouds appears again and again. (Matt. 24:30; 26:64; Mark 13:26; 14:62). If we clear this picture of the elements of imagination characteristic of that time - we, for example, no longer think that heaven is located somewhere just beyond the firmament - we are left with the unchanging truth that the day will come when Jesus Christ will be the Lord of all . Christians, whose life was difficult and whose faith often meant death, have always drawn strength and consolation from this hope.
2. His coming will bring fear to the enemies of Christ. Here John refers to a quotation from Zach. 12.10:"... they will look at Him, whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only begotten son, and mourns, as one mourns for a firstborn." The quote from the Book of the Prophet Zechariah is connected with the story of how God gave His people a good shepherd, but the people, in their disobedience, insanely killed him and took for themselves worthless and selfish shepherds, but the day will come when they will bitterly repent, and on that day they They will look at the good shepherd whom they have pierced and will mourn for him and for what they have done. John takes this picture and applies it to Jesus: the people crucified Him, but the day will come when they will look at Him again, and this time it will not be the humiliated Christ on the Cross, but the Son of God in the glory of heaven, to whom has been given power over all things. universe.
It is clear that John was originally referring here to the Jews and Romans who actually crucified Him. But in every generation and in every era, those who sin crucify Him again and again. The day will come when those who turned away from Jesus Christ or opposed Him will see that He is the Lord of the universe and the judge of their souls.
The passage ends with two exclamations: Hey, amen! In the Greek text this expression corresponds to the words nay And amine. Nye - it's a Greek word and amine - word of Hebrew origin. Both of them signify a solemn agreement: “So be it!” By using both Greek and Hebrew words at once, John emphasizes their special solemnity.
GOD WE TRUST IN (Rev. 1:8)
Before us is the majestic image of God, in whom we believe and whom we worship.
1. He is Alpha and Omega. Alpha - first, and omega - the last letter of the Greek alphabet, and the combination alpha And omega indicates completeness and completeness. In the Hebrew alphabet the first letter is aleph, and the last one - tav; the Jews had a similar expression. This expression points to the absolute fullness of God, in whom, in the words of one English commentator, there is “limitless life, which embraces all and transcends all.”
2. God is, He was and He is coming. In other words, He is Eternal. He was when time began, He is now and He will be when time ends. He was the God of all who believed in Him, He is the God in whom we can trust today and in the future nothing can ever happen that can separate us from Him.
3. God is Almighty. In Greek Pantocrator - Pantocrator - the one whose power extends to everything.
It is interesting to note that this word appears seven times in the New Testament: once in 2 Cor. 6.18 in a quotation from the Old Testament, and all the other six times in Revelation. It is obvious that the use of this word is characteristic only of John. Just think of the situation in which he wrote: the armored might of the Roman Empire had risen to crush the Christian Church. No empire before could resist Rome; What chance did the suffering, small, huddled herd, whose only crime was Christ, have against Rome? Purely humanly speaking, none; but when a person thinks like this, he misses the most important factor - God Pantocrator, Pantocrator, Who holds everything in his hands.
This word in the Old Testament characterizes the Lord God of Hosts (Am. 9.5; Os. 12.5). John uses the same word in a stunning context: “... the Lord God Almighty reigns” (Rev. 19:6). If people are in such hands, nothing can destroy them. When there is such a God behind the Christian Church, and as long as the Christian Church is faithful to its Lord, nothing can destroy it.
THROUGH THE TRIPLES TO THE KINGDOM (Rev. 1:9)
John is not presented by any official title, but simply as your brother and companion in sorrow. He gained his right to speak because he himself went through the circumstances that those to whom he wrote went through. The prophet Ezekiel writes in his book: “And I came to those who had been exiled to Tel Aviv, living by the river Chebar, and stopped where they lived.” (Ezek. 3:15). People will never listen to someone who preaches patience from a comfortable chair or heroic courage, having first secured for himself a prudently safe place. Only those who have gone through this themselves can help those who are going through it now. The Indians have a saying: “No one can criticize another unless he has been in his moccasins for a day.” John and Ezekiel could speak because they were sitting where their listeners were now sitting.
John puts three words in one row: tribulation, kingdom and patience. In Greek grief - flipsis. Initially flipsis it simply meant pressure, burden and could, for example, mean the pressure of a large stone on a person’s body. At first the word was used in a completely literal sense, but in the New Testament it came to mean the burden of events known to us as persecution. Patience - in Greek it is Hupomone. Hupomone - This is not the kind of patience that passively endures all vicissitudes and events; it is the spirit of courage and triumph, which gives courage and courage to a person and turns even suffering into glory. Christians were in this situation. They were in grief, flipsis, and, as John believed, at the center of the terrible events preceding the end of the world. They were waiting basileia, a kingdom they wanted to enter and longed for. There was only one way from flipsis V basileia, from misfortune to glory, and this path lay through hupomone, all-conquering patience. Jesus said, “He who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13). Paul told his readers, “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22). IN 2 Tim. 2.12 we read: “If we endure, then we will reign with Him.”
The road to the Kingdom of God is a path of long patience. But before we move on to the next passage, let us make one more point: this patience must be found in Christ. He Himself endured to the end and He can give those who walk with Him the ability to gain the same long-suffering and achieve the same goal.
ISLAND OF LINKS (Rev. 1:9 continued)
John reports that at the moment when he was given the visions of Revelation, he was on the island of Patmos. The tradition of the early Christian Church is unanimous that John was exiled to the island of Patmos during the reign of Emperor Domitian. Jerome of Dalmatia says that John was exiled in the fourteenth year after the death of the Emperor Nero and was released after the death of the Emperor Domitian (On Illustrious Men: 9). This means that he was exiled to Patmos around the year 94 and released around the year 96.
Patmos is a small barren rocky island, from the Southern Sporades group, measuring 40 x 2 km.
It is in the shape of a crescent moon, with its horns facing east. Its shape makes it a good natural bay; the island lies 60 km from the coast of Asia Minor and was important because it was the last harbor on the way from Rome to Ephesus and the first in the opposite direction.
Exile to a remote island was widely practiced in the Roman Empire as a punishment, especially for political prisoners, and it must be said that this was far from the worst punishment for political criminals. Such punishment entailed deprivation of civil rights and property, with the exception of the subsistence level. The exiles were not treated poorly in this way and did not have to go to prison; they could move freely within the narrow confines of their island. This was the case with political exiles, but with John everything was completely different. He was the leader of the Christians, and the Christians were criminals. It is even surprising that he was simply not executed immediately. For John, exile was associated with hard work in quarries and quarries. One theologian believes that John's exile was preceded by scourging and was associated with wearing shackles, poor clothing, insufficient food, sleeping on the bare floor, a dark prison, and working under the whip of military overseers.
The Patmos exile left its marks on John's writing style. To this day, the island shows visitors a cave on a cliff above the sea where the Revelation is said to have been written. The island of Patmos has majestic views of the sea and, as someone said, Revelation is full of "the sights and sounds of the vast sea." Word sea, falassa appears at least twenty-five times in Revelation. As the same commentator put it, "Nowhere else do the voices of many waters create such music as on Patmos; nowhere else does the rising and setting sun form such a beautiful sea of glass mixed with flame, and yet nowhere else is it so natural wish that there would no longer be this dividing sea."
John took upon himself all these hardships, suffering and hard work of the exile. for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. The Greek text of this phrase can be interpreted in three ways: it can mean that John went to Patmos in order to preach Word of God; it may mean that he went alone to Patmos to get The Word of God and the Vision of Revelation. But it is quite obvious that John's exile to Patmos was a consequence of his unwavering faithfulness to the Word of God and his persistence in preaching the good news of Jesus Christ.
IN THE SPIRIT ON THE SUNDAY DAY (Rev. 1:10-11)
This is extremely interesting in historical sense passage, because here we have the first mention in literature of the Lord's Day - Sunday.
We have often spoken about the Day of the Lord - the day of wrath and judgment, when the present age, the age of evil, will pass into the age to come. Some commentators directly claim that in his vision John was transported to the Day of the Lord and saw in advance all the amazing things that would happen then. Such people, however, are few and far between, and that is not the meaning of these words.
It is quite obvious that when speaking about Sunday - the Lord's Day - John uses it in the same sense as we do, and this is the first mention of it in literature. How did it happen that the Christian Church stopped observing the Sabbath and began to observe the Lord's Day - Sunday? The Sabbath was observed in memory of the rest for which God settled down after the creation of the world; The Lord's Day - Sunday - was established in memory of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
Apparently, the first three mentions of Sunday - the Lord's Day - include the following: in Didache, The Doctrine of the Twelve Apostles, the first manual and instruction for Christian worship, says: “On the day of the Lord we gather together and break bread.” (Didache: 14.1). Ignatius of Antioch in his letter to the Magnesians says that Christians are those who “no longer live for the Sabbath, but for the Lord’s Day” (Ignatius: “Epistle to the Magnesians” 9:1). Melitus of Sardis wrote a treatise "On the Day of the Lord." Already somewhere in the second century, Christians stopped observing the Sabbath and Sunday, the Lord's Day, became their recognized day.
One thing is certain: all these early references belong to Asia Minor and it was there that Sunday was originally observed. But what caused Christians to become weekly observe the first day of the week? In the east there was such a day of the month and such a day of the week, which was called Sebaste, what does it mean Emperor's Day; without a doubt, it was this fact that prompted Christians to dedicate the first day of the week to the Lord.
John was in spirit that is, in an ecstatic state of divine inspiration, which means that he was elevated above the world of matter and time into the world of eternity. “And the spirit lifted me up,” says Ezekiel, “and I heard a great voice of thunder behind me.” (Ezek. 3:12). John heard a loud voice, like a trumpet. The sound of the trumpet is woven into the language of the New Testament (Matt. 24:31; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16). Without a doubt, John had another picture from the Old Testament in his mind's eye. The story of how Moses received the law says: "...there were thunders, and lightning, and a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very strong sound of a trumpet." (Ex. 19:16). The voice of God is comparable to the commanding, unmistakable clarity of the sound of a trumpet.
These two verses form a unity. John was on the island of Patmos And he was in good spirits. We have already seen what Patmos was like, and we have seen what difficulties and sufferings John had to endure; but no matter where a person lives, no matter how difficult life may be, no matter what he should not go through, he can still be in the spirit. And, if he is in spirit, even on the island of Patmos the glory and message of God will come to him.
HEAVENLY MESSENGER (Rev. 1:12-13)
We begin with John's first vision and note that his mind is so saturated with Scripture that for every element of the picture there are analogs and parallels from the Old Testament.
John says he turned around to see whose voice. We would say, “I turned around to see who the voice belonged to.”
Turning around, he saw seven golden lamps. John not only alludes to the Old Testament, he takes elements from various places and creates a whole picture from them. This picture has - seven golden lamps, - three sources.
a) The lampstand of pure gold in the tabernacle. It had six branches, three on each side, and seven lamps (Ex. 25:31-37).
b) Picture of Solomon's Temple. It had five lamps of pure gold on the right side and five on the left side. (1 Kings 49).
c) Vision of the prophet Zechariah. He saw “a lampstand all of gold, and a cup of oil on top of it, and seven lamps on it.” (Zech. 4:2).
John's vision consists of various Old Testament elements and instances where God had already revealed himself to His people. There is certainly a lesson for us in this. The best way to prepare yourself for the discovery of new truth is to study the revelation that God has already given to people.
In the middle of the seven lamps he saw like the Son of Man. Here we return again to Dan. 7.13.14, where the Ancient of Days gives power, glory and kingdom to one like the Son of Man. As we already well know from the way Jesus used this expression, the Son of Man became no less and no more than the title of the Messiah; and by using it here, John makes it clear that the revelation he received comes from Jesus Christ Himself.
This figure was dressed in podir And girded across the chest with a golden belt. And here are associations with three paintings.
A) Podir - in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, - the long toe-length robe of the Jewish high priests (Ex. 28.4; 29.5; Lev. 16.4. The Roman historian Josephus also carefully describes the clothing that the priests and high priest wore during services in the temple. They wore “long clothing down to the toes” and around the chest, “above the elbows” - a belt loosely wound several times around the body. The belt was decorated and embroidered with colors and flowers, with woven gold threads (Josephus: "Antiquities of the Jews", 3.7: 2,4). All this means that the description of the robe and belt of Christ clothed with the glory almost exactly corresponds to the description of the vestments of the priests and high priests. This is a symbol of the high priestly nature of the activity of the Risen Lord. In the Jewish understanding, a priest was a person who had access to God and gave others access to Him; even in heaven, Jesus, the great High Priest, carries out His priestly work, giving all people access to the presence of God.
b) But not only priests wore long robes and high belts. This was the clothing of the greats of this world - princes and kings. Podir Jonathan's robe was called (1 Sam. 18.4), and Saul (1 Samuel 24:5.11), and princes of the sea (Ezek. 26:16). The garments worn by the Risen Christ are those of royal dignity. He was no longer a criminal on the cross; He was clothed like a king.
Christ is the Priest and Christ is the King.
c) But this picture has another parallel. A man appeared in a vision to the Prophet Daniel, clothed in linen clothing (in the Greek translation of the Old Testament it is called podir) and his loins were girded with gold from Uphaz (Dan. 10.5). This is the robe of the messenger of God. Thus, before us is Jesus Christ as the highest messenger of God.
And it is a majestic picture. Tracing the source of John's thoughts, we see that by the very garment of the Risen Lord he presents Him to us in His threefold ministry: prophet, priest and king, who brings the truth of God, who gives others access to the presence of God, and to whom God has given power and authority forever.
IMAGE OF THE RISEN CHRIST (Rev. 1:14-18)
Before examining the passage in detail, let us note two general facts.
1. It is easy to overlook how carefully Revelation was conceived and written. This book is not one that was written hastily; it is a closely woven and integral work of artistic literature. In this passage we see several descriptions of the Risen Christ, and it is interesting to note that each of the letters to the seven churches in the following chapters, with the exception of the letter to the Laodicean church, begins with one of the descriptions of the Risen Christ taken from that chapter. This chapter seems to touch on several topics that should later become the texts of the epistles to the churches. Let us write down the beginnings of each of the first six messages and see how they correspond to the description of Christ given here.
“Write to the angel of the church of Ephesus: thus says He holds the seven stars in His right hand" (2:1).
“Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, who was dead and is now alive” ( 2,8 ).
“Write to the angel of the Church of Pergamum: thus says having a sword sharp on both sides" (2:12).
“Write to the angel of the church of Thyatira: Thus says the Son of God, whose eyes are like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like chalkoliban” ( 2,18 ).
"Write to the angel of the Sardinian church: thus says having the seven spirits of God and the seven stars" (3:1).
"Write to the angel of the Philadelphian church: Thus says the Holy One, the True One, having the key of David, He who opens, and no one will shut; He who shuts, and no one will open." (3,7).
This is literary skill of a very high class.
2. Secondly, it should be noted that in this passage John uses titles that in the Old Testament are titles of God, and gives them to the Risen Christ.
“His head and hair are white, like white wool, like snow.”
IN Dan. 7.9 - this is a description of the Ancient of Days.
"His voice is like the sound of many waters."
In the Old Testament, God Himself controls the stars. God asks Job: “Can you tie the knot of Him or once loose the knot of Kesil?” Job. 38.31.
"I am the first and the last."
"I alive".
In the Old Testament God is usually the "living God" Iis. N. 3.10; Ps. 41.3; Os. 1.10.
"I have the keys to hell and death."
U The rabbis had a saying that God owns three keys, which He will not give to anyone - the keys of birth, rain and resurrection of the dead.
This, like nothing else, shows with what reverence John treats Jesus Christ. He treats Him with such reverence that He cannot give Him titles less than those that belong to God Himself.
TITLES OF THE RISEN LORD (Rev. 4:14-18 continued)
Let us briefly consider each of the titles by which the Risen Lord is named.
“His head and hair are as white as white wool, as white as snow.”
This characteristic, taken from the description of the Ancient of Days from Dan. 7.9, symbolizes the following:
a) It symbolizes extreme old age and speaks of the eternal existence of Jesus Christ.
b) She talks about Divine purity. “Though your sins be as scarlet,” said Isaiah, “they shall be as white as snow; though they be red as crimson, they shall be as white as wool.” (Isa. 1:18). This is a symbol of the precedence and sinlessness of Christ.
"His eyes are like a flame of fire."
John always remembers the book of Daniel; this is taken from the description of the Divine figure who brought Daniel the vision. "His eyes are like burning lamps" (Dan. 10:6). When reading the gospel story, one gets the impression that a person who has seen the eyes of Jesus at least once could never forget them. Again and again we clearly see His eyes surveying the people around Him (Mark 3:34; 10:23; 11:11). Sometimes His eyes flash with anger (Mark 3:5); sometimes they settle on someone with love (Mark 10:21); and sometimes they contain all the sorrow of a person offended by friends to the depths of his soul (Luke 22:61).
“His feet are like halkolivan, like those heated in a furnace.”
It turned out to be impossible to determine what kind of metal it was - chalcolivan. Maybe this is that fabulous mineral, an alloy of gold and silver, which the ancients called electrum and were considered more valuable than both gold and silver. And this vision has its source in the Old Testament. The Book of Daniel says about the heavenly messenger: “His hands and feet were like shiny brass in appearance.” (Dan. 10.6); The prophet Ezekiel said about angelic beings that “their soles... sparkled like shiny copper” (Ezek. 1:7). Maybe this picture symbolizes two things. Halkolivan symbolizes strength, the steadfastness of God, and the luminous rays of heat - speed, the speed with which He hastens to help His people or to punish sin.
This is a description of the voice of God in Ezek. 43.2. But perhaps this is the echo of the small island of Patmos that has reached us. As one commentator put it: “The sound of the Aegean Sea has always been in the ears of the seer, and the voice of God does not sound on one note: here it is like the roll of the sea surf, but it can be like the breeze of a quiet wind; it can give a stern reprimand, or it can sing soothingly, like a mother over a hurt child.
"He held in His right hand seven stars."
And this was the prerogative of God Himself. But there is something beautiful here. As the seer fell in awe at the vision of the Risen Christ, He stretched out His right hand and laid it on him, saying, “Fear not.” The right hand of Christ is strong enough to uphold the heavens and gentle enough to wipe away our tears.
TITLES OF THE RISEN LORD - 2 (Rev. 1:14-18 (continued))
“Out of His mouth came a sword, sharp on both sides.”
It was not long and narrow, like a swordsman's, but a short, tongue-shaped sword for close combat. And again, the seer found elements for his image in various places in the Old Testament. The prophet Isaiah speaks of God: “He... will smite the earth with the rod of his mouth.” (Isa. 11:4) and about himself: “And I made my mouth like a sharp sword” (Isa. 49:2). This symbol speaks of the all-pervading power of the Word of God. When we listen to Him, no shield of self-deception can protect us from Him; it removes our self-deception, exposes our sins, and leads us to forgiveness. “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.” (Heb. 4:12);"...the wicked one, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth..." (2 Thess. 2:8).
"His face is like the sun shining in its strength."
There is a grandiose picture in the Book of Judges that could well have been in John's mind. All God’s enemies will perish, but “let those who love Him be like the sun rising in all its strength.” (Judges 5:31). If this awaits those who love God, how much more likely is it that this awaits the beloved Son of God. One English commentator sees in this something even more attractive: nothing more and nothing less than a memory of the Transfiguration. Then Jesus was transfigured in the presence of Peter, James and John, “and His face shone like the sun.” (Matthew 17:2). None of those who saw this could no longer forget this radiance, and if the author of Revelation was the same John, then it is possible that he saw on the face of the Risen Christ the glory he saw on the Mount of Transfiguration.
"When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead."
This is what the prophet Ezekiel experienced when God spoke to him. (Ezek. 1:28; 3:23; 43:3). But we, of course, can find an echo of the gospel story here too. On that great day in Galilee, when many fish were caught, Simon Peter, seeing who Jesus was, fell at His knees, realizing only that he was a sinful man (Luke 5:1-11). In the last days, man can only stand reverently in the presence of the holiness and glory of the Risen Christ.
"Don't be afraid".
And here, of course, we have an analogy in the gospel story, because His disciples heard these words from Jesus more than once. He told them this as he walked towards them on the water of the lake. (Matt. 14:27; Mark 6:50), and, above all, on the Mount of Transfiguration, when they were horrified by heavenly voices (Matthew 17:7). Even in heaven, as we approach unattainable glory, Jesus says, "I am here; do not be afraid."
"I am the first and the last."
In the Old Testament, similar words belong to God himself (Isa. 44.6; 48.12). Jesus thereby declares that he was present in the beginning and will be present in the end; He is present at the moment of birth and at the moment of death; He is present when we take the Christian path and when we finish our path.
"I am alive, and I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever."
This is at once Christ's declaration of His rights and promises; the declaration of Him who has conquered death and the promise of Him who lives to be with His people forever.
"I have the keys of hell and death."
Death has its own gates (Ps. 9.14; 106.18; Isa. 38.10), and Christ has the keys to these gates. Some understood this statement of His - and still understand it today - as an indication of the descent into hell (1 Pet. 3:18-20). In the ancient Church there was an idea according to which Jesus, having descended into hell, opened the doors and brought out Abraham and all the people faithful to God who lived and died in previous generations. We can understand His words in an even broader sense, for we Christians believe that Jesus Christ destroyed death forever and brought life and immortality through beatitude through the Gospel. (2 Tim. 1:10), that we will live because He lives (John 14:19) and that, therefore, for us and for those we love, the bitterness of death is gone forever.
CHURCHES AND THEIR ANGELS (Rev. 1:20)
This passage begins with a word that is used throughout the New Testament on a very special occasion. The Bible says about the secret seven stars and seven golden lamps. But Greek musterion, translated in the Bible as secret, means something other than mystery in in our sense of the word. Musterion means something that has no meaning to an outsider, but has meaning to the initiate who has the key to it. Thus, here the Risen Christ explains the inner meaning of the seven stars and seven lamps.
The seven lamps symbolize the seven churches. Christian is the light of the world (Matt. 5:14; Phil. 2:15); this is one of the greatest titles of a Christian. And one interpreter gives a very insightful commentary on this phrase. He says that churches are not the light itself, but the lamp in which the light is lit. It is not the churches themselves who create the light; Jesus Christ gives light, and churches are only vessels in which this light shines. A Christian shines not with his own light, but with borrowed light.
One of the important problems raised by Revelation has to do with the meaning that John gives To the angels of the churches. Several explanations have been proposed.
1. Greek word Aggelos - in Greek yy pronounced like ng, - has two meanings; it means angel, but even more often it means messenger, messenger. It has been suggested that messengers from all the churches gathered to receive John's message and bring it to their communities. If this were the case, then each message would begin with the words: “To the Messenger... of the Church...”. As far as the Greek text and the Greek language are concerned, such an interpretation is quite possible; and there is a lot of meaning in this; but the thing is that the word Aggelos used in Revelation about fifty times, not counting its use here and in the addresses to the seven churches, and in each and every case it has a meaning angel.
2. It has been suggested that Aggelos what matters is the bishop of the church. It has also been suggested that these bishops of the churches gathered to meet John, or that John sent these messages to them. In support of this theory, the words of the prophet Malachi are cited: “For the mouth of the priest must keep knowledge, and the law is sought from his mouth, because he messenger Lord of Hosts" (Mal. 2.7). In the Greek translation of the Old Testament messenger, messenger translated as Aggelos, and it has been suggested that this title may have been simply given to the bishops of the churches. They are messengers, messengers of the Lord to His churches, and John addresses them with a speech. And this explanation is quite reasonable, but it does not stand up to the same counterargument as the first: then the title angel attributed to people, and John does not do this anywhere else.
3. It has been suggested that the idea behind this guardian angels. According to the Jewish worldview, each nation had its own supreme angel (cf. Dan. 10:13.20.21). So, for example, Archangel Michael was the guardian angel of Israel (Dan. 12:1). People also have their own guardian angels. When Rhoda returned with the news that Peter had left prison, those gathered did not believe her, but thought that it was his angel (Acts 12:15). And Jesus Himself spoke of angels who guard children (Matthew 18:10). If this meaning is accepted, then the guardian angels are blamed for the sins of the churches. Actually, Origen believed that this was so. He said that a guardian angel of the church befits a child's mentor. If the child’s behavior has deteriorated, the mentor must be reprimanded; and if the church has become corrupted, God, in His mercy, reproaches the angel for this. But the difficulty is that, although the angel of the church is mentioned in the address of each message, the address is undoubtedly addressed to the members of the church.
4. Both the Greeks and the Jews believed that everything on earth had a heavenly counterpart, and it was therefore suggested that the angel was the ideal of the church, and that John addressed the churches as their ideal images in order to return them to the true path.
We now come to study the messages to the seven churches. In each case we will give a brief historical background and describe the historical background of the city in which the church was located; and having studied the general historical background, we will move on to a detailed study of each message.
Commentary (introduction) to the entire book of Revelation
Comments on Chapter 1
As we read the words of this Prophecy, our hearts should be filled with praise to our Lord for the grace that has saved us from all that is to come in this age. Another blessing for us is the assurance of final victory and glory. Arnaud S. Gabelin
Introduction
I. SPECIAL POSITION IN THE CANON
Uniqueness last book The Bible is obvious from the very first word - "Revelation", or, in the original, "Apocalypse". This is the word that means "secrets revealed"- equivalent of our word "Apocalypse", a type of writing that we find in the OT in Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah, but only here in the NT. It refers to prophetic visions of the future and uses symbols, imagery, and other literary devices.
Revelation not only sees the fulfillment of all that was foretold and the final triumph of God and the Lamb in future, it also connects the disjointed endings of the first 65 books of the Bible. In fact, this book can only be understood by knowing the entire Bible. Images, symbols, events, numbers, colors, etc. - almost We have encountered all this previously in the Word of God. Someone rightly called this book the "great main station" of the Bible, because all the "trains" arrive at it.
What kind of trains? Trains of thought that originate in the book of Genesis and trace the idea of redemption, the idea of Israeli people, pagans, the Church, Satan - the enemy of God's people, Antichrist and much more.
The Apocalypse (since the fourth century so often erroneously called the "Revelation of St. John" and so rarely the "Revelation of Jesus Christ," 1:1) is the necessary climax of the Bible. He tells us how everything will happen.
Even a cursory reading of it should serve as a stern warning to unbelievers to repent, and as encouragement to God's people to persevere in the faith!
The book itself tells us that its author is John (1.1.4.9; 22.8), writing at the command of his Lord Jesus Christ. Long-standing compelling and widespread external evidence support the view that the John in question is the Apostle John, son of Zebedee, who spent many years working in Ephesus (Asia Minor, where all the seven churches addressed in chapters 2 and 3 were located). He was exiled by Domitian to Patmos, where he described the visions that our Lord vouchsafed him to see. Later he returned to Ephesus, where he died in a good old age, full of days. Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Clement of Alexandria and Origen all attribute this book to John. More recently, a book called the Apocryphon of John (circa 150 AD) was found in Egypt, which quite definitely attributes the Revelation to John, the brother of James.
The first opponent of the authorship of the apostle was Dionysius of Alexandria, but he did not want to recognize John as the author of Revelation for the reason that he was against the teaching of the Millennial Kingdom (Rev. 20). His vague, unsubstantiated references first to John Mark and then to “John the Presbyter” as the possible authors of Revelation could not withstand such convincing evidence, although many modern more liberal theologians also reject the authorship of the Apostle John. There is no evidence in church history confirming the existence of such a person as John the presbyter (elder), except the author of the 2nd and 3rd epistles of John. But these two epistles are written in the same style as 1 John, and are also very similar in simplicity and vocabulary to Heb. from John.
If the external evidence given above is quite strong, then internal evidence are not so certain. The vocabulary, rather of a crude "Semitic" Greek style (there are even a few expressions that philologists would call solecisms, stylistic errors), as well as the word order convince many that the man who wrote the Apocalypse could not have written the Gospel.
However, these differences are understandable, and there are also many similarities between these books.
For example, some believe that Revelation was written much earlier, in the 50s or 60s (the reign of Claudius or Nero), and Gospel John wrote much later, in the 90s, when he had improved his knowledge of the Greek language. However, this explanation is difficult to prove.
It is quite possible that when John wrote the Gospel, he had a scribe, and during his exile to Patmos he was completely alone. (This in no way violates the doctrine of inspiration, since God uses the personal style of the author, and not the general style of all the books of the Bible.) In both the Gospel of John and Revelation we find common themes such as light and darkness. The words “Lamb,” “overcome,” “word,” “faithful,” “living waters,” and others also unite these two works. In addition, both John (19:37) and Revelation (1:7) quote Zechariah (12:10), while in the meaning of “pierced” they use not the same word that we find in the Septuagint, but a completely different word with the same meaning. (In the Gospel and Revelation the verb is used ekkentesan; in the Septuagint in Zechariah its form katorchesanto.)
Another reason for the differences in the vocabulary and style of the Gospel and Revelation is the very different literary genres. In addition, much of the Hebrew phraseology in Revelation is borrowed from descriptions common throughout the OT.
So, the traditional opinion that the Apostle John, son of Zebedee and brother of James, really wrote Revelation, has a historically solid basis, and all the problems that arise can be resolved without denying his authorship.
III. WRITING TIME
The earliest date for the writing of Revelation is believed by some to be the 50s or late 60s. As noted, this partly explains the less skillful artistic style Revelations.
Some believe that the number 666 (13.18) was a prediction about the Emperor Nero, who was supposedly supposed to be resurrected.
(In Hebrew and Greek, letters also have a numerical value. For example, aleph and alpha - 1, beth and beta - 2, etc. Thus, any name can be represented using numbers. Interestingly enough, the Greek name Jesus ( Iesous) denoted by 888. The number eight is the number of a new beginning and resurrection. It is believed that the numerical designation of the letters of the name of the beast is 666. Using this system and slightly changing the pronunciation, “Caesar Nero” can be represented by the number 666. Other names can be represented by this number, but we need to avoid such rash assumptions.)
This suggests an early date. The fact that this event did not happen does not affect the perception of the book. (Perhaps he proves that Revelation was written much later than the reign of Nero.) The Church Fathers quite specifically point to the end of the reign of Domitian (about 96) as the time when John was on Patmos, where he received the Revelation. Since this opinion is earlier, well-founded, and widely held among orthodox Christians, there is every reason to accept it.
IV. PURPOSE OF WRITING AND TOPIC
The key to understanding the book of Revelation is simple - to imagine that it is divided into three parts. Chapter 1 describes John's vision of Christ in the robe of a Judge standing in the midst of seven churches. Chapters 2 and 3 cover the Church age in which we live. The remaining 19 chapters deal with future events following the end of the Church Age. The book can be divided as follows:
1. What John saw that is, the vision of Christ as Judge of the churches.
2. What is: a survey of the Church age from the death of the apostles to the time when Christ takes His saints into heaven (chapters 2 and 3).
3. What will happen after this: description of future events after the rapture of the saints into the Eternal Kingdom (chap. 4 - 22).
The contents of this section of the book can be easily remembered by making the following outline: 1) chapters 4-19 describe the great tribulation, a period spanning at least seven years when God will judge unbelieving Israel and the unbelieving Gentiles; this judgment is described using the following figurative objects: a) seven seals; b) seven pipes; c) seven bowls; 2) Chapters 20-22 cover the second coming of Christ, His reign on earth, the Great White Throne Judgment, and the Eternal Kingdom. During the Great Tribulation period, the seventh seal contains seven trumpets. And the seventh trumpet is also the seven bowls of wrath. Therefore, the great tribulation can be depicted in the following diagram:
SEAL 1-2-3- 4-5-6-7 |
|
PIPES 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 |
|
BOWLS 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 |
Inserted episodes in the book
The above diagram shows the main plot of the entire book of Revelation. However, there are frequent digressions throughout the narrative, the purpose of which is to introduce the reader to various important personalities and events of the great tribulation. Some writers call them interludes, or inserted episodes. Here are the main interludes:
1. 144,000 sealed Jewish saints (7:1-8).
2. Believing pagans during this period (7.9 -17).
3. Strong Angel with a book (chapter 10).
4. Two witnesses (11.3-12).
5. Israel and the dragon (chapter 12).
6. Two beasts (chapter 13).
7. 144,000 with Christ on Mount Zion (14:1-5).
8. Angel with candlelight Gospel (14.6-7).
9. Preliminary announcement of the fall of Babylon (14.8).
10. Warning to those who worship the beast (14:9-12).
11. Harvest and grape gathering (14:14-20).
12. Destruction of Babylon (17.1 - 19.3).
Symbolism in the book
The language of Revelation is mostly symbolic. Numbers, colors, minerals, precious stones, animals, stars and lamps all symbolize people, things or various truths.
Luckily, some of these symbols are explained in the book itself. For example, seven stars are the Angels of the seven churches (1.20); the big dragon is the devil, or Satan (12.9). Clues to understanding some other symbols are found in other parts of the Bible. The four living creatures (4:6) are almost the same as the four living creatures in Ezekiel (1:5-14). And Ezekiel (10:20) says that these are cherubim. The leopard, bear and lion (13.2) remind us of Daniel (7), where these wild animals represent the world empires: Greece, Persia and Babylon, respectively. Other symbols are not clearly explained in the Bible, so one must be very careful in interpreting them.
The purpose of writing the book
As we study the book of Revelation, and indeed the entire Bible, we must remember that there is a difference between the Church and Israel. The Church is a people belonging to heaven, their blessings are spiritual, their calling is to share the glory of Christ as His Bride. Israel is God's ancient people living on earth, to whom God promised the land of Israel and a literal Kingdom on earth under the leadership of the Messiah. The true Church is mentioned in the first three chapters, and then we do not see it until the wedding feast of the Lamb (19:6-10).
The period of great tribulation (4.1 - 19.5) in its nature is predominantly the period of the Jews.
In conclusion, it remains to add that not all Christians interpret Revelation as stated above. Some believe that the prophecies of this book were fully fulfilled during the history of the early Church. Others teach that Revelation presents a continuing picture of the Church of all times, from John to the very end.
This book teaches all of God's children that living for the sake of what is transitory is meaningless. It encourages us to be a witness to the lost and encourages us to wait patiently for the return of our Lord. For non-believers, this is an important warning that all who reject the Savior will face a terrible destruction.
Plan
I. WHAT JOHN SAW (Ch. 1)
A. Theme of the book and greeting (1.1-8)
B. Vision of Christ in a judge's robe (1:9-20)
II. WHAT IS: MESSAGES FROM OUR LORD (Ch. 2 - 3)
A. Epistle to the Church of Ephesus (2:1-7)
B. Epistle to the Church of Smyrna (2:8-11)
B. Epistle to the Church of Pergamum (2:12-17)
D. Epistle to the Church of Thyatira (2:18-29)
E. Epistle to the Sardinian Church (3:1-6) E. Epistle to the Philadelphia Church (3:7-13)
G. Epistle to the Laodicean Church (3:14-22)
III. WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER THIS (Ch. 4 - 22)
A. Vision of God's Throne (Chapter 4)
B. The Lamb and the Book Sealed with Seven Seals (Ch. 5)
B. Opening of the Seven Seals (Chapter 6)
D. Saved During the Great Tribulation (Ch. 7)
D. The Seventh Seal. Seven trumpets begin to sound (Ch. 8 - 9)
E. Strong Angel with a book (Ch. 10)
G. Two Witnesses (11.1-14) H. Seventh Trumpet (11.15-19)
I. The main characters in the great tribulation (Ch. 12 - 15)
J. The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath (Ch. 16)
L. The Fall of the Great Babylon (Ch. 17 - 18)
M. The Coming of Christ and His Millennial Kingdom (19.1 - 20.9).
N. Judgment of Satan and all unbelievers (20:10-15)
O. New heaven and new earth (21.1 - 22.5)
P. Final Warnings, Consolations, Invitations and Blessings (22:6-21)
I. WHAT JOHN SAW (Ch. 1)
A. Theme of the book and greeting (1.1-8)
1,3 Of course, God wanted this book to be read in the Church, because He promised to especially bless reading her aloud and to everyone in the congregation who listens and takes it to heart. Time fulfillment of prophecy close.
1,4 John addresses the book seven churches located in the Roman province Asia. This province was located in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). First of all, John wishes for all churches grace and peace. Grace- God's undeserved favor and strength, constantly needed in the Christian life. World- peace emanating from God, helping the believer to endure persecution, persecution and even death itself.
Grace and peace come from the Trinity.
He gives them Which is and was and is to come. This refers to God the Father and gives a proper definition of the name Jehovah. He is eternally existing and unchanging. Grace and peace also come from seven spirits who are before His throne. This refers to God the Holy Spirit in His fullness, since seven is the number of perfection and completeness. It is not surprising that the number seven appears fifty-four times in this final book of the Bible.
1,5 Grace and peace flow forth and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and ruler of the kings of the earth. This is a detailed description of God the Son. He - witness loyal.
How firstborn from the dead, He is the first to rise from dead and shall die no more, and Who occupies the place of honor and primacy among all who rise from the dead, to enjoy eternal life. He is also ruler of the kings of the earth. Immediately after his initial greeting, John sets forth a worthy praise of the Lord Jesus.
First he speaks of the Savior as the One Who loved or loves us and washed us from our sins with His Blood.(The Book of Revelation contains some variations in manuscript readings. The reason is that Erasmus, who published the first NT in Greek (1516), had only one copy of Revelation, and that one was defective. Therefore, there are minor variations. Only the most basic ones are noted in this commentary , critical changes. Where there is a difference, preference will be given to the majority of texts.)
Pay attention to the tenses of the verbs: loves- present ongoing action; washed- past completed action. Notice also the word order: He loves us and truly loved us long before washed. And pay attention to the price: By His blood. Honest self-evaluation prompts us to admit that the price of redemption is too high. We don't deserve to be saddled with such an exorbitant price.
1,6 His love was not limited to just washing us, although it could have been that way. He made us kings and priests to His God and Father.
Like saints priests, we offer spiritual sacrifices to God: ourselves, our possessions, our praise and our service to Him. How regal priests, we proclaim the perfections of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light. Having thought about such love, we can inevitably come to the conclusion that He is worthy of all that many glory, all the honor, worship and praise we can muster for Him. He is worthy to be the Lord of our life, the Church, the world and the entire universe. Amen.
1,7 This Blessed One again is coming to the ground on cloud chariots. His coming will not be local or invisible, because every eye will see Him(cf. Matt. 24:29-30).
Those responsible for His crucifixion will be horrified. In fact, everyone will cry tribes of the earth, because He will come to judge His enemies and establish His Kingdom. But the faithful will not mourn his coming; they say: "To her, come. Amen".
1,8 Here the speaker changes. The Lord Jesus introduces Himself like Alpha and Omega(first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), beginning and end.(NU and M texts omit "beginning and end".) It measures time and eternity and exhausts the entire vocabulary. He is the source and goal of creation, and He is the One who began and will complete the Divine program for the world.
He is and was and is to come, God eternal in being and power Almighty.
B. Vision of Christ in a judge's robe (1:9-20)
1,9 Takes the floor again John, who introduces himself as brother and accomplice all believers in the tribulation, and in the kingdom, and in the patience of Jesus Christ.
It unites sorrow, durability ( patience) and the kingdom. Paul also unites them in Acts (14:22), exhorting the saints to “continue in the faith and teach that through much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom of God.”
For loyalty the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ John was in prison on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. But the prison became for him a reception room of heaven, where visions of glory and judgment were revealed to him.
1,10 John was in the Spirit that is, he was in pure close fraternal communion with Him and was thus able to receive Divine information. This reminds us that one must be quick to hear. “The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him” (Ps. 24:14). The described vision occurred on Sunday, or on the first day of the week. That was the day of Christ's resurrection, two subsequent appearances to His disciples, and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles on the day of Pentecost.
The disciples also gathered to break bread on Sunday, and Paul instructed the Corinthians to take an offering on the first day of the week. Some believe that John here refers to the time of judgment about which he will write, but in the original Greek the expression “day of the Lord” is expressed in different words in both cases.
1,11-12 It was Jesus who commanded him write a book that he will soon will see and send written seven churches. Turning to see the One who spoke, John saw seven golden lamps, each of which had a base, a vertical trunk and an oil lamp on the top.
1,13 In the middle of the seven lamps was like the Son of Man.
There was nothing between Him and each lamp: no intermediary, no hierarchy, no organization. Each church was autonomous. Describing the Lord, McConkie says: “The Spirit finds for symbols such a sphere of reality as might give to our sluggish and limited minds some faint idea of the glory, splendor and majesty of the One to come, who is the Christ of Revelation.”(James H. McConkey, The Book of Revelation: A Series of Outline Studies in the Apocalypse, p. 9.)
He was clothed in a long judge's robe. Belt by His Persians symbolizes the justice and infallibility of His judgment (see Isa. 11:5).
1,14 His head and hair are white as a wave. This reflects His eternal essence as the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:9), wisdom, as well as the purity of His clothing.
Eyes, like a flame of fire, they speak of perfect knowledge, unerring insight, and the fact that it is impossible to escape His searching gaze.
1,15 Legs The gentlemen were similar polished copper, like hot ones in a furnace. Since brass is a recurring symbol of judgment, this confirms the opinion that He is represented here primarily with authority judges. His voice sounded like the sound of sea waves or like the sound of a mountain waterfall, majestic and terrifying.
1,16 What He kept in To His right hand there are seven stars, indicates possession, power, dominance and glory. Out of His mouth came a sword sharp on both sides, Word of God (Heb. 4:12). Here it refers to the strict and precise judgments against His people, as seen in the letters to the seven churches. His face was like radiant Sun, when it is high in the zenith, dazzling in the splendor and extraordinary glory of His Divinity.
Putting all these reflections together, we see Christ in all His perfection, having the highest qualification to judge the seven churches. Later in this book He will judge His enemies, but “the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God” (1 Pet. 4:17). However, we note that in each specific case this is a different court. Judgment is brought upon the churches to purify them and to bestow rewards; over the world - for judgment and punishment.
1,17 The sight of this Judge caused John to His feet feel like they're dead but the Lord restored him, revealing Himself to him as the First and the Last (one of the names of Jehovah; Isa. 44:6; 48:12).
1,18 This judge is the Living One, Who was dead but now alive forever and ever. He has the keys of hell and death, that is, control over them and the unique ability to resurrect from the dead. ("Hell" - in the Synodal translation. In English it is "hades", hence the following explanation.) Hell, or Hades, here refers to the soul, and death- to the body. When a person dies, his soul remains in Hades, or in an incorporeal state. The body goes to the grave. For a believer, the disembodied state is equivalent to being with the Lord. At the moment of resurrection from dead soul will unite with the glorified body and ascend to the Father's house.
1,19 John should write that he saw(chapter 1), what is(Ch. 2-3) and what happens after that(Ch. 4-22). This constitutes the general content of the book.
1,20 Then the Lord explained to John hidden meaning seven stars And seven golden lamps. Stars- This angels, or messengers, seven churches, while lamps- themselves seven churches.
There are different explanations for the word "angels". Some believe that these are angelic beings who represented the churches, just as angels represent the nations (Dan. 10:13.20.21).
Others say they are bishops (or pastors) of churches, although this explanation lacks spiritual basis. There are those who say that these are messengers - people who took messages from John on Patmos and delivered them to each individual church.
Greek word "angelos" means both “angel” and “messenger”, but in this book the first meaning is clearly visible.
Although the messages are addressed angels their content is clearly intended for all who constitute the Church.
Lamps- bearers of light and serve as a suitable prototype of local churches, who are meant to shine God's light amidst the darkness of this world.
II. WHAT IS: MESSAGES FROM OUR LORD (Ch. 2 - 3)
In chapters 2 and 3 we are introduced to personal messages addressed to the seven churches in Asia. These messages can be applied in at least three ways. First, they describe the actual state seven local churches at the time John wrote. Secondly, they illustrate Christianity on earth at any moment his stories. The characteristics that we find in these epistles were found at least partially in every century after Pentecost. In this respect the messages are remarkably similar to the seven parables in chapter 13 of Hebrews. from Matthew. And finally, the messages are given serial preliminary an overview of the history of Christianity, where each church represents a separate historical period. The usual trend in the condition of churches is towards deterioration. Many believe that the first three messages are sequential, and the last four are coincidental and refer to the rapture period. According to the third point of view, the eras in the history of the Church usually represent the following order:
Ephesus: A church of the first century, which is generally worthy of praise, but has already left its first love.
Smyrna: From the first to the fourth centuries the Church experienced persecution at the hands of the Roman emperors.
Pergamon: in the fourth and fifth centuries, thanks to the patronage of Constantine, Christianity was recognized as the official religion.
Thyatira: From the sixth to the fifteenth centuries, the Roman Catholic Church exerted a wide influence on Western Christianity until it was shaken by the Reformation. The Orthodox Church dominated in the East.
Sardis: the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were the post-Reformation period. The light of the Reformation quickly dimmed.
Philadelphia: the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries saw powerful revivals and great missionary movements.
Laodicea: The latter-day church is depicted as lukewarm and backslidden. This is the church of liberalism and ecumenism.
There are similarities in the construction of these messages. For example, each of them begins with a personal greeting to each church; each represents the Lord Jesus in the image best suited to that particular church; in each it is noted that He knows the affairs of this church, as indicated by the word “I know.”
Words of praise are addressed to all churches except Laodicea; the reproach sounds to everyone except the Philadelphia and Smyrna churches. Each church is given a special exhortation to hear what the Spirit says, and each message contains a special promise for the overcomer.
Each church has its own distinctive character. Phillips identified the following characteristics that reflect these dominant traits: Ephesian church - lost love; Smirnskaya- enduring persecution; Pergamon- too tolerant; Thyatira- a church that makes compromises; Sardinian- sleeping church; Philadelphia- a church with favorable opportunities, and Laodicean- a smug church. Walvoord describes their problems as follows: 1) loss of first love; 2) fear of suffering; 3) deviation from religious doctrine; 4) moral decline; 5) spiritual deadness; 6) loose holding and 7) warmth. (John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, pp. 50-100.)
Article one.
The apocalypse is such a revelation of hidden secrets, which occurs during insights of the mind or in visions during sleep, or in the waking state with the help of Divine illumination. If the apostle says it is Revelation given to Christ from God, then uses the expression in relation to human nature, for in his Gospel he, more than all other evangelists, depicts Him in sublime features and Divine expressions. Also here, through the ministering angel and in the name of the disciples slaves points us to the greatness of the Divinity of Christ, for He all sorts of work (Ps.119:91).
Christ, as Master, showed this to me through an angel, to me, His servant, who testified to his confession, so that through what I saw I would testify and preach for the conversion of those listening both about what, although it exists, is hidden from people, and about what what has to be. For the seer prophetically saw both; this is clear from the words which is the essence and which should be, indicate present and future tense.
Glorifies those who read and listen in order to fulfill, because the time appointed for people to do and receive bliss is short. "Do it, until there is day, night will come, when no one else can do"says the Lord ( John 9:4). Otherwise: in comparison of this short-term life with the future, eternal life, the time of reward is near to each according to his deeds (Matthew 17:27).
Although there were many local churches, he only sent to the seventh churches. He did this for the sake of the septenary number, which mysteriously means all the churches, and also because of the correspondence of this number to real life, in which the septenary circle of days is accepted. For the same reason, he mentions only seven angels and seven churches, to whom he sends his greeting: “grace to you and peace from the Trinitarian Deity.” In a word Syi signifies the Father who said to Moses: I am Sy (Exodus 3:14); expression like him- The word that in the beginning be to God (John 1:1); in a word coming- Comforter, always descending on the believing children of the Church in holy baptism and having to be poured out on them in all its fullness in the next century ( Acts 2). Under seven spirits one can understand the seven angels (who received control of the churches), not placed together with the God-originating and Royal Trinity, but remembered with Her, as her servants, as the divine Apostle says in the same way: I will testify before the Gods and Lords Jesus Christ and His elect angels (1 Timothy 5:21). But this can be understood in another sense: under the expression of the Son, in who was and who is to come- to understand the Father, Who contains in Himself the beginning, middle and end of the existence of everything that exists; under seven spirits- gifts of the Life-giving Spirit; under having to follow then- Jesus Christ, God, who became Man for us. For even in the Apostle the Divine Hypostases are placed before and after without any distinction, which is why he says here too and from Jesus Christ etc.
For He, who testified before Pontius Pilate, true in all his words (Ps.144:13), like life and resurrection; He firstborn from the dead (Col.1:18 ; 1 Corinthians 15:20), and over whom He rules, they will not see death, like those who died and were resurrected before, but will live forever. He is the Lord of kings, as King of kings and Lord of lords (Ps.2:6 ; Col.2:10 ; 1 Timothy 5:16), equal in power to the Father and consubstantial with Him ( John 10:30; 14.20). Otherwise: He is the King of kings of the earth, kings over earthly passions. And if blessed Gregory the Theologian refers to Christ the expression of the Son, and who is and who is to come, the Almighty, then it would not be at all inappropriate to attribute the following sayings to Him. Added to these words Almighty and no mention is made of another person. This meaning of the above is confirmed by further words: a from Jesus Christ, because if only one God the Word and the Son Hypostasis were spoken of, then it would be completely unnecessary words in from Jesus Christ to separate Him from another. Divine words befit equally both each individual Hypostasis and all together, with the exception, perhaps, according to Gregory the Theologian, of the differences and properties that are special and personal, and those related to the incarnation of God the Word. This is also confirmed by the fact that we are taught in the Gospel to relate the Trisagion of the Seraphim to the Son, in Acts, in the sermon of the Apostle Paul - to the Holy Spirit, and in the offering of the Holy Mysteries - to the Father, to whom we address this prayer, as he says about this Blessed Epiphanius in his sermon on the Holy Spirit. We present all this as evidence that our explanation does not contradict the opinion of the church fathers, and now, with God’s help, we will move on to the next one.
It is fitting, he says, glory to Him, who, out of His love, freed us from the bonds of mortals and washed us with the outpouring of His Life-giving Blood and water from the filth of sin and made us a royal priesthood, offering the Father a living sacrifice - verbal service instead of the victims of dumb animals.
Here He, slain as a lamb, will come in the glory of the Father as the Judge, on clouds, or incorporeal forces, or similar to the cloud that overshadowed Him with the apostles on Mount Tabor. Coming with glory Every eye will see him; those who crucified Him and the tribes of the earth who did not believe in Him will cry (Matthew 24:29 -30). Hey, amen means: absolutely, yes. These words mean the same thing in both Greek and Hebrew. Amen - let it be.
The words Alpha and Omega signify Christ as God, containing everything, beginningless and infinite: Syi, And formerly sy, And no end, co-essential with the Father, and therefore having to reward everyone according to his affairs.
I, as your brother and accomplice in the sorrows of Christ for the sake of Christ, have fully earned your trust, for, condemned for the confession of Christ on the island of Patmos, I proclaim the mysteries that I saw on it.
Article two. A vision in which I saw the Clothed One in the midst of seven golden lamps.
I was in the spirit on Sunday and heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet, which said: I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last; write what you see in a book and send it to the churches that are in Asia: to Ephesus and Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
Embraced by the Holy Spirit and receiving spiritual hearing, I heard on the most revered Sunday day the voice of the Lord, like a trumpet in its sonority, for Their message went out into all the earth (Ps.18:5). Pointing out the words Alpha and Omega to God’s beginninglessness and infinity, He commanded me to tell the seven churches about what I had seen, denoting by number seven, ending on Saturday, subsistence, that is, the rest of the century of the future. Therefore, writes the great Irenaeus, God created seven heavens and seven angels who rule over others.
The voice heard by the apostle was not sensual; he indicates this with a word contacted, that is, he turned not to hear, but see him, because spiritual hearing and seeing mean the same thing. And turning around, he then says, he saw seven golden lamps (below they are called churches) and among them Christ, like the Son of Man(not an ordinary person, but at the same time God!) and clothed in the subdir, as the highest Bishop, according to the rank Melchizedek (Ps.109:4). He was girded with a golden belt, not on the thigh, as people girdle to tame lusts (the Divine flesh is free from them), but when sucking- across the chest, to show by this that the extreme measures of the Divine wrath are restrained by love for mankind and that the covenants, these breasts of the Master, with which the faithful feed, are girded by truth. Zlaty The belt is named to denote the highest superiority, purity and innocence.
Although He is new to us, He is also ancient, or rather, eternal; His Vlasi are white. His eyes are like a flame of fire, illuminating the saints and scorching the wicked.
Gregory of Nazianzus means by kicks economy of God, for His feet the flesh is, by which the Divine who appeared on earth brought about our salvation. But under the feet one can also understand the apostles, as the affirmation of the Church. Doctors consider Chalcolivan to be a special fragrant incense, which they call strong and masculine. Otherwise: hulk(halkos - copper) means human nature, Lebanon(livanos - incense) - Divine, and combined into one word chalkolivan - the fragrance of faith and the unfused unity of natures. Khalk also means the fragrance of Christ’s teaching, and Lebanon means the appeal of the pagans to Him, which is why the Bride is commanded to come (
1:1 which must soon take place. See 22.6.7.10.12.20. Spiritual warfare occurs throughout the earthly existence of the Church. " Last days", announced by the prophecies of the Old Testament, were revealed with the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:16.17). The time of waiting has passed, God is leading humanity into the final phase of its spiritual formation. It is in this sense that these days are the “end time" (1 John 2, 18).
1:2 testimony of Jesus Christ. Those. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, Containing the News of His Resurrection. Revelation itself is a message whose purpose is to strengthen the Christian witness. Revelation has the fullness of Divine authority and authenticity (22,20.6.16; 19,10).
1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who listen. Revelation not only speaks words of condemnation to unbelievers, but also blessings to believers (14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7.14).
the words of this prophecy. See 22.7-10.18.19. Like Old Testament prophecy, Revelation combines visions of the future with exhortations to believers. Prophecy is a special inspired form of revealing the driving force of history, connecting all disparate events into a single picture of cause-and-effect relationships.
observant. Those. performing. Blessing does not come to the hearers, but to the doers of what is heard.
1:4-5 A greeting typical for the genre of messages.
Seven churches. See 1.11; 2.1 - 3.22. In the book of Revelation, the number seven plays an important role (see Introduction; Contents), symbolizing completeness (Gen. 2:2.3). The choice of seven churches not only expresses this theme, but also indicates the broader content of the message, namely, that it is addressed to all churches.
Asia. Asia (Asia) is a province of the Roman Empire, covering the west of what is now Turkey.
Which is and was and is to come. This expression is identical to the name of God in the book of Exodus 3:14-22. See com. to 1.8.
from the seven spirits. The Holy Spirit is described in terms of sevenfold fullness (4:5; Zech. 4:2.6). The source of grace and peace is the Trinity: God the Father (“Who is”), the Son (1:5) and the Spirit (cf. 1 Pet. 1:1.2; 2 Cor. 13:14).
1:5 is a faithful witness. See com. to 1.2.
firstborn. See com. to 1.18.
lord See com. to 4.1-5.14.
1:5-8 John gives glory to God in a form that bears similarities to the beginning of most of the letters of the Apostle Paul. Themes of God's sovereignty, redemption, and the Second Coming of Christ are featured throughout the book of Revelation.
who washed us. In the original: “who delivered us.” See com. to 5.1-14.
1:6 Worshiping and glorifying God is the main theme of Revelation. Glorifying God is an integral part of spiritual warfare.
who made us kings and priests. Saints delight in God's law and, as priests, have direct access to God (Heb. 10:19-22; 1 Pet. 2:5-9). In the future they will reign with Him (2:26.27; 3:21; 5:10; 20:4.6). All nations now share the priestly privileges bestowed on Israel (Ex. 19:6). The purposes of redemption, typified by the exodus from Egypt, and the purposes for which man was given dominion over creation, are fulfilled in Christ (5:9.10).
The theme of priestly service and communication with God is combined in Revelation with the image of the temple (see book 4:1 - 5:14).
1:8 Alpha and Omega. The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. God is the Beginning and Finisher of creation. He is the Lord of the past, present and future, as indicated by the expression “is and was and is to come” (see book 4:1 - 5:14). His sovereign power over creation serves as a guarantee of the fulfillment of the goals He has set (Rom. 8:18-25).
Which... is coming. This refers to the Second Coming of Christ as the final stage of God's plan.
1:9 partner... in patience. The call to be patient and faithful is repeated throughout Revelation (2.2.3.13.19; 3.10; 6.11; 13.10; 14.12; 16.15; 18.4; 22.7.11.14). The exhortation is given in the midst of persecution and temptation (see Introduction: Time and Circumstances of Writing).
Patmos. A small island located off the western coast of Asia Minor.
1:10 was in the spirit. The Spirit of God gives John visions and opens up the perspective of human history in its spiritual aspect.
on Sunday. In the original: “day of the Lord”, i.e. the day when Christians prayerfully remember the resurrection of Christ. The resurrection anticipates God's final victory (19:1-10).
1:11 to the churches. See com. to 1.4.
1:12-20 Christ appears before John in immeasurable glory (cf. 21:22-24). The expression "like the Son of Man" refers to the book of Daniel (7:13). The narrative of 1:12-16 is reminiscent of the visions of the prophets Daniel (7:9.10; 10:5.6) and Ezekiel (1:25-28), but it also has similarities with many other Old Testament appearances of God. The vision shows Christ as Judge and Ruler - primarily over the churches (1.20 - 3.22), as well as over the entire universe (1.17.18; 2.27). His Divine dignity, power and victory over death serve as the guarantee of the final victory at the end of human history (1:17.18; 17:14; 19:11-16). This vision of God Almighty, whose authority is exercised through Christ, is fundamental to the book of Revelation.
The lamps symbolize the churches as bearers of light or testimony (1:20; Matt. 5:14-16). Christ walks surrounded by churches as Lord and Shepherd, just as the cloud of the glory of God descended and remained in the tabernacle and in the temple where the lamps were (Ex. 25:31-40; 1 Kings 7:49). Light, as one of the properties of God (1 John 1.5), finds its highest manifestation in Christ (John 1.4.5; 8.12; 9.5; Acts 26.13); it is also reflected in various ways in His creation: in the flames of angels (10:1; Ezek. 1:13), in natural light (21:23; Gen. 1:3), in the lamps of the temple, in churches and in every person ( Matthew 5:14.15). Thus, the Lord shows against what background the completion of the creation of the universe takes place (Eph. 1:10; Col. 1:16.17). Since all creation is contained by Christ (Col. 1:17), the Trinitarian images in 1:12-20 and 4:1 - 5:14 lay the foundation for all Revelation. And just as the essence of the Trinity is deeply mysterious, so the images of Revelation are inexplicably deep.
1:15 the sound of many waters. See com. by 1.10.
1:16 Sword. See 19.15; Heb. 4.12; Is. 11.4.
like the sun. See 21.22-25; Is. 60.1-3.19.20.
1:17 I am the First and the Last. The same as “Alpha and Omega” (1.8&com; 2.8; 22.13; Is.41.4; 44.6; 48.12).
1:18 alive. Otherwise: living. The resurrection of Christ and His new life determine the new life of His people (2.8; 5.9.10; 20.4.5) and the renewal of all creation (22.1).
I have the keys... of death. These words anticipate 20.14.
1:19 This verse probably indicates the division of the content of Revelation in time into the past (1.12-16), present (2.1 - 3.22) and future (4.1 - 22.5). However, this division is very relative, since some fragments of the content of each part relate to all three periods.
1:20 Angels."Angel" means "messenger". In the Word of God it can refer to people, especially church pastors, or to angels as spiritual beings. The prominent role given to angels in Revelation suggests that it is angels as ministering spirits that are meant here (22:6; Dan. 10:10-21).
The inscription of a book, predetermining its content (1–2). The purpose of its writing; Doxology of Jesus Christ and book authorization (3–9). Vision of the like of the Son of man (10–16); final explanations regarding the vision (17–20).
Rev. 1:1. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon happen. And He showed it by sending it through His angel to His servant John,
Revelation, with which word He begins his prophetic book. John is the title here, expressing the essence of its content. Further words: “which God gave him” should mean that in this message of revelation. John received the fulfillment of Divine pre-eternal predestination. This is also indicated by further words: “to show your servants what must soon happen.” The revelation of the Apocalypse is, as it were, a continuation of the revelation already communicated by Jesus Christ to his disciples during His earthly life. According to the interpretation of St. Andrew Caesar., “soon” is used here in relation to the eternity of God, for whom “a thousand years are like yesterday” (2 Pet. 3:8). The verb “showed” here suggests Jesus Christ Himself as the direct actor - this is on the one hand; and on the other hand, it indicates that the form of communication of revelation is not the form of prophecy, but the form of visions and symbols, accessible primarily to sensory vision. The name Angel is the general name for the servant of God, the messenger of God. The angel, as a messenger, as a servant of the will of God, must communicate this revelation to her. John, the servant of God, as a kind of mediator, since not all people are capable and worthy to receive Divine revelation directly from the Angel.
Rev. 1:2. who testified the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ and what he saw.
2nd Art. explains why ev. John can be this worthy mediator - because he testified to the word of God... He, John, testified, that is, conveyed and communicated the teaching of Jesus Christ, which in His mouth was evidence, proof of His Divine messenger, and those great miracles and the deeds of Jesus Christ, which, according to the word of Himself, should have served in the eyes of people as evidence of the same messengership. It is for the sake of his former closeness to Jesus Christ that John now presents himself as a worthy and capable transmitter of Divine revelation - an apostle of Christ.
Rev. 1:3. Blessed is he who reads and those who listen to the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it; for the time is near.
The word “blessed” - in relation to Rev. 22:18-19 can mean freedom from the plagues of the last time and a joyful entry into the future new Jerusalem. Having called the readers and listeners of his Apocalypse blessed, John explains what he expects and desires from them. He demands from them that they keep what is written. This is confirmed by the end of the third verse: “for the time is at hand.” A Christian must keep in mind the revelations of the Apocalypse about the imminent end of the world, about the bliss of the righteous and the torment of sinners, since it may happen that this death will find him completely unexpected and therefore unprepared.
Rev. 1:4. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
John is the one who was called a servant of Jesus Christ in the first verse. He addresses the received revelation to the seven churches of Asia - that front part of the Asia Minor peninsula, which was the place of preaching activity of St. Paul and John, and where several Christian societies - churches were founded. He addresses only these seven churches as a type of conciliar church and also because it was these seven churches that Jesus Christ chose as a vessel for perceiving the mysteries of the future. John addresses these churches with the usual apostolic greeting, which the apostles were taught by Jesus Christ Himself.
This grace and peace are taught not from him, John, but from “He who is, and was, and is to come.” This last expression is repeated two more times in the Apocalypse: Rev. 1:8 and Rev. 4:8. In both cases, this name is applied to God the Father, to the first Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity, and so it is here. The teaching of peace and grace from other persons of the Holy Trinity is spoken of by St. John in the further course of the speech. It is about grace and peace from the Holy Spirit that is spoken of in the words: “and from the seven spirits that are before His throne.” These are not the powers or virtues of God, not the highest Angels, for Angels themselves are never called givers of grace and peace, as created beings, even higher ones. Most interpreters refer to the seven spirits as the Holy Spirit. The right to such an interpretation is given by the analogies that we find in other places in St. Scriptures (Isa. 11:2-3; Zech. 4:6, 10). The One Hypostasis of the Holy Spirit is symbolically depicted as a sevenfold spirit (no more and no less) because the number seven is, as it were, the seal of the spirit and expresses the fullness of the grace-filled gifts distributed from the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:4-11).
Rev. 1:5. and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins with His Blood
The third source of grace and peace, along with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, is Jesus Christ. The Seer characterizes Him: 1) as a witness. Jesus Christ testified and taught about Divine love for people and about the calling of all people to divinity - like the ancient prophets, and like the confessors and martyrs, for whom this name - martyrs - was established; 2) Jesus Christ is characterized as a faithful witness, in the sense that He sealed His teaching, His preaching about salvation with His suffering; 3) the characteristic of Jesus Christ is in the words “the firstborn from the dead” (cf. Col. 1:18). The title of Jesus Christ as the firstborn from the dead should be understood as an indication of His perfection and superiority over all those born of mortals. He is the first, the only one of all mortals, for He alone was resurrected by His own power and authority. This is also an indication of His Divine-human nature. 4) The characteristic of Jesus Christ is an indication of His royal dignity: He is “the ruler of the kings of the earth.” Here the kings of the earth are taken, obviously, as representatives of all humanity, all its power and strength. Directly to the characterization of Jesus Christ as the giver of grace and peace, St. John joins in glorification. In this glorification, the originality of the speech structure attracts attention. The originality occurred as a result of the extreme excitement of the seer and the extreme speed of the flow of ideas in his mind: this is new evidence of the peculiarity of the Apocalypse as a book, different from other prophetic books and written in a state of supreme prophetic ecstasy.
Rev. 1:6. and made us kings and priests to His God and Father; glory and power forever and ever, amen.
The meaning of the expression of the 6th Art. can be clarified by analogy with the expression Ap. Peter: “a chosen people, a royal priesthood” (1 Pet 2:9). Christians begin to constitute the Kingdom of Christ because they dominate, with the help of God's grace, over their human passions and lusts, because they follow Jesus Christ, denying themselves and bearing their cross. In this sense, Christians can also be called priests. They are priests to God and His Father, that is, they serve Him by making a bloodless sacrifice, offering Him their prayers and hearts, contrite and humble. Every Christian performs and should perform sacred acts in this sacrifice. For everything to Him (Jesus Christ) be glory, that is, glorification, praise of gratitude and power, that is, submission to His power.
Rev. 1:7. Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the families of the earth will mourn before Him. Hey, amen.
Verse seven, although also speaks of Jesus Christ, but in relation to the future, in relation to His second coming. The image of this second coming, which should be imprinted in the memory of Christians, is partly the same as what we find in other places of St. Scriptures (Matt. 24:30; cf. Rev. 26:64; Dan. 7:13). John could have drawn this expression from his memory as a hearer of the conversation of Jesus Christ or from the prophecy of Zechariah: they will look at Him whom they have pierced and will mourn for Him (Zechariah 12:10). It is worthy of note that his prophecy of St. John also cites in his Gospel what is obviously well known to him. By the expression: “and those who pierced Him,” we must understand not only the descendants of Judea according to the flesh, but persons of other nations who, through their sinful lives, through their rejection of the Gospel, will pierce the Savior a second time (Gal. 2:17, 19, 21).
Rev. 1:8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
In 8 tbsp. it speaks of God the Father - the primary cause of Divine knowledge, who, according to Art. gave revelation to Christ for communication to believers. So this verse, like the previous one, aims to further strengthen the authority of what is communicated in the Apocalypse. - “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” The meaning of this expression is that God, as the Almighty, is the real beginning and first cause of all existence. At the same time, He is the end (alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, omega is the last), the final goal of all existence; everything, as created by Him, must strive towards Him, with His help strive for perfection and ask Him for bliss (Col. 1:17). Typically, interpreters end with the introduction to the Apocalypse in Art. 8. and art. 9 already belongs to the first part of it. But you can take 9 tbsp. and to the introduction and start the first part only with 10 tbsp. Only this latter stands in direct connection with what follows; verse 9 can be understood both as a preliminary explanation of what follows and as the end of the previous one.
Rev. 1:9. I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and in the kingdom and in the patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The seer calls himself by name - this is in accordance with the Old Testament and New Testament apocalypticism (Dan. 7:15, 8:1). – In addition to what was said in Rev. 1, the seer in v. 9. speaks of himself as a brother. The name brother, here, as in other places of the Apocalypse (Rev. 6:11, 12:10, 19:10), is used not with the purpose of specially distinguishing oneself from other believers, but with the purpose of indicating greater affinity and closeness. The subsequent words: “and a partner in sorrow” are a further revelation of the same thought. John is not only a brother by nature, but is similar to them in other conditions of life. He also suffered persecution for the name of Christ; not alone, but together with others, he participates in the Kingdom of Christ and in the patient hope of Jesus Christ. Pointing out his closeness to all Christians, St. John in the words: “was on the island called Patmos” also defines the place from where he sends his Apocalypse. He was exiled here during the reign of Domitian for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. He was exiled because his preaching of the word of God too incited the pagan people and the pagan Roman authorities against him. They sent him to do hard work in the mines of Fr. Patmos, as they did with other Christians. This is how St. ends. John's introduction to the Apocalypse. Now readers already know who they are dealing with, who will tell them, about what and on whose behalf.
Rev. 1:10. I was in the spirit on Sunday, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet, which said: I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last;
John prefaces his message of revelation to the seven churches of Asia Minor with an image of his own internal state in which he received this revelation. “I,” he writes, “was in the spirit on Sunday.” Apparently this was the day of the week that St. John, along with other Christians, was accustomed to serving the Lord. He completely renounced the body, the earth and earthly interests and was, as he puts it, in the spirit (a state of ecstasy). John heard a loud voice, obviously with spiritual hearing (2 Cor 12:2), and the power of the sound was expressed in the strength of the impression that everything he saw and heard made on the seer.
Rev. 1:11. write what you see in a book and send it to the churches that are in Asia: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
This voice warned John that he sees and hears not only for himself, but also for others, and therefore must write it down in order to be able to convey it not only to those close to him, but also to those far away. This revelation must be directly transmitted to seven churches - Christian societies: in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.
Rev. 1:12. I turned to see whose voice was speaking to me; and turning, he saw seven golden lampstands
The vision of seven golden lampstands indicates the property of the Divine nature, according to which God is light (1 John 1:5). But in order to be worthy of contemplation of this light, what John expresses with the word “convert” is required, that is, to renounce worldly cares, you need to lift up your spiritual eyes to the mountain.
Rev. 1:13. and, in the midst of the seven lampstands, like the Son of Man, clothed with a robe and girded across the chest with a golden girdle:
Being in the spirit, ev. John saw the one giving him the revelation among the seven lampstands, like the Son of Man, clothed in a podir (a long white robe worn by high priests and kings). This clothing is reminiscent of royal shiny clothing, which is why the golden belt was girded not along the hips, but along the chest, which in turn gave special grandeur to the entire figure of the person who appeared.
Rev. 1:14. His head and hair are white, like white wool, like snow; and His eyes are like a flame of fire;
Rev. 1:15. and His feet were like chalcolivan, like those burning in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.
Rev. 1:16. He held in His right hand seven stars, and from His mouth came a sword sharp on both sides; and His face is like the sun shining in its power.
The following verses 14–16 report other features of Christ's appearance. He appeared as seated at the right hand of the Father. The hair on His head was as white as wool and as white as snow. Whiteness speaks of His eternal birth as the Son of God and of His Divine omniscience (Dan. 7:9). Accordingly, John noticed a change in the gaze of Jesus Christ. – The fiery brilliance of the Savior’s eyes is an indication of His property as an omnipotent, omniscient and just Judge. The feet of the appeared Lord seemed to the seer to be emitting such a shine that comes from molten chalkolivan (Lebanese copper). This appearance and property of the feet of Jesus Christ before John revealed the success of the gospel preaching through Christ's apostles, for which feet are needed as if made of solid copper, a zeal is needed as hot as molten copper is hot. The voice sounded with special force and was intended, by the power of its sound, to give more solemnity to the revelation and impart to it a greater degree of impression. – What the stars are in the hands of the Lord is explained in Rev. 1:20 by Jesus Christ Himself; As for the sword coming out of His mouth, then, obviously, it is the very revelation that Jesus Christ intends to communicate through He. John in the Apocalypse. In the vision, the face (appearance) of Jesus Christ is depicted as like the sun - an indication of the warmth and light of God's word.
Rev. 1:17. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead. And He laid His right hand on me and said to me: Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.
Rev. 1:18. and alive; and he was dead, and behold, he is alive forever and ever, Amen; and I have the keys of hell and death.
Rev. 1:20. So write what you saw, and what is, and what will happen after this.
Rev. 1:21. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lamps, is this: the seven stars are the Angels of the seven churches; and the seven lampstands which you saw are seven churches.
Verses 17–20 contain the final explanations regarding the vision. St. John, seeing the Lord, fell at His feet, thereby revealing his insignificance and his reverent fear of what appeared, but he heard the soothing words: “Do not be afraid.” This meant: I am your almighty and eternal creator and wise provider. I am eternal according to My Divinity. I also experienced the fate of death common to all people. But I was resurrected by My divine power. For the sake of My voluntary suffering, I have the keys of hell and death, that is, I have power over both, for I have defeated the devil. - The Lord commanded John to write down everything he saw - to write down 1) the situation in which he received his Apocalypse (what you see), 2) what he learned about the property of the churches of Asia Minor (what is) and 3) what is according to God's revelation must happen in the future.
Seven churches are named instead of the one universal church, instead of all Christians, for God's revelation is appointed for all of them (Rev. 1:1). The bishops of each church represent something more than simple lamps as its representatives and bearers of its ideals. It is about them that it is said that the stars are the Angels of the churches. Ancient interpreters understand these Angels as disembodied spirits - Guardian Angels; the newest ones want to see symbolic Angels. But it is best to dwell on the interpretation according to which here the Angels mean bishops as representatives of churches. Thus, according to the image of the Apocalypse, Christian archpastors are always in the hand of God, and God is their constant patron, mentor and judge.
